The document discusses children in need in England between 2009-2013. It defines a child in need as one who requires local authority services to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development. The number of children in need was over 400,000 in 2012-2013. Between 2-3% of children in England have parents who misuse drugs, and over 2.6 million children live with hazardous or dependent drinkers. The link between parental substance misuse and children being in need is clear, as over half of suspected child abuse cases involve families experiencing issues like mental illness, substance abuse, or domestic violence.

1. Children in Need in England in
2013
Parental substance use and
harms

2. Definition of a child in need
Children Act 1989 defines a child as being in need if:
• s/he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have
the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a
reasonable standard of health or development
without the provision for him of services by a local
authority;
• his/her health or development is likely to be
significantly impaired, or further impaired, without
the provision for him of such services; or
• s/he is disabled

3. Number of children in need, in
England aged under 18
450,000
400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/characteristics-of-children-in-need-in-england-2012-to-2013

4. Important to remember...
• Drinking or drug use by parents does not
automatically mean they are poor parents.
• Problematic use of drugs and alcohol is
more likely to cause harm, and the types
of drugs and the pattern of use are as
likely to be as critical as the amounts
consumed.
•
Cleaver, H. Unell, I & Aldgate, J. (2011) Children’s Needs – Parenting Capacity ; Child abuse:
Parental mental illness, learning disability, substance misuse and domestic violence DfE

5. Children living with parents that
misuse substances
• Estimated that
– 2–3% of children in England, under the age of
16 years, have parents who misuse drugs
– more than 2.6 million children in the UK live
with hazardous drinkers, 705,000 live with a
dependent drinker
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/characteristics-of-children-in-need-in-england-2012-to-2013

6. But... The link between children in need
and parental substance misuse is clear
“...in more than half of the cases [of
suspected child abuse ], families were
experiencing a number of problems
including mental illness or learning
disability, problem drinking and drug use, or
domestic violence.”
Cleaver, H. Unell, I & Aldgate, J. (2011) Children’s Needs – Parenting Capacity ; Child abuse: Parental
mental illness, learning disability, substance misuse and domestic violence DfE

7. Numbers of children in need by
reason and sex
200,000
180,000
160,000
140,000
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
Male
Female
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/characteristics-of-children-in-need-in-england-2012-to-2013