Chair of the commission, Anne Longfield, said: “There are parts of our country where the state is completely failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children from the ongoing epidemic of county lines, criminal exploitation, and serious violence.
“This is a problem hidden in plain sight, rocket-boosted by Covid, which is disproportionately affecting teenagers in deprived and minority ethnic communities and also some families living in leafy suburbs.
“It is a national threat to our country’s prosperity and security, a threat which is ruining lives and scarring communities, and which is costing the NHS, schools, the police and criminal justice system, and the children’s social care system billions of pounds every year.
“This final report is our call to action. After a decade of running-down early help programmes and youth services, a return to investing in children and their families is desperately needed.”
