Minister targets new Children’s Fund cash

New money for the Children’s Fund, announced in chancellor Gordon
Brown’s July comprehensive spending review statement, is to be
spent on developing identification, referral and tracking
procedures for every child and young person at risk of offending,
drug-taking and teenage pregnancy.

The funding, worth £600m over three years, takes effect from
April next year. The government’s original settlement for the
Children’s Fund was worth £450m over the three years from
2002-2004.

John Denham, minister for children and young people, said the
Children’s Fund had proved its worth in its first 17 months, but
warned that agencies were still failing to share information to
assist the provision of services to children and young people at
risk.

The fund will continue to tackle social exclusion and poverty. The
new money will enable small grants to be provided through the local
network fund for projects helping children and young people up to
19 years old at risk of social exclusion. The cash will also help
to promote youth participation in government.