Hardest places for children to grow up identified across England

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 18 Oct, 18:56 · Archive

The Children's Commissioner has identified Middlesbrough, Hounslow and Bradford as the toughest places for children in England.

The Children's Commissioner has published The Childhood Lottery, a comprehensive report examining conditions for children across every local authority in England. The report uses more than 160 measures to assess challenges faced by young people, with each area assigned an overall score based on nearly 100 metrics covering access to health and social care, education and housing, safety, opportunities for play and children's involvement in local decision-making.

Middlesbrough, Hounslow and Bradford have been identified as the three toughest places for children to grow up, followed by Nottingham, Halton in Cheshire, Peterborough, Leicester, Liverpool, Sunderland and Medway. Cheshire East, Merton and Surrey are named as the most favourable areas, alongside Richmond upon Thames, Hertfordshire, Cheshire West and Chester, Haringey, Leicestershire, Central Bedfordshire and Wokingham.

Dame Rachel de Souza, England's Children's Commissioner, is expected to deliver a speech on Monday warning of a 'state of emergency' in certain communities. She states that 'the postcode lottery' children experience 'is real', noting that every single local area in England has work to do to improve conditions for children. The report highlights 'unacceptable outcomes and levels of service delivery' in too many parts of the country, with significant variations between regions—for example, mental health service waiting times vary from six days in Leicester to 118 days in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

How it is being reported

• Hardest places for kids to grow up in England revealed as Children's Commissioner warns of 'state of emergency'A landmark Children's Commissioner report, The Childhood Lottery, uses more than 160 measures to highlight the greatest challenges faced by children across every local authority in England — and which child poverty hotspots face a 'state of emergency'The Mirror · 18 Oct, 18:32
• Map reveals hardest places for children to grow up in EnglandThe best and hardest places for children to grow up are both in the north of England (Picture: Getty Images) The stark inequalities between English cities and regions for kids growing up have been laid bare in a new report from the Children’s Commissioner. Dame Rachel de Souza says her latest…Metro · 18 Oct, 16:25

In this story: Dame Rachel de Souza · Children's Commissioner · Middlesbrough · Hounslow · Bradford · Cheshire East · Merton · Surrey

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem