People’s Health Trust welcomes the Children’s Commissioner’s The Childhood Lottery report, which brings together more than 150 measures of children’s lives and exposes stark differences in children’s experiences depending on where they grow up.
The findings reinforce a simple truth: children’s health and life chances are shaped not only by individual circumstances, but by the social and economic conditions around them - including housing, family income, education, safety, access to services and opportunities to play and participate in community life.
John Hume, Chief Executive of People’s Health Trust, said:
“The Childhood Lottery report is a powerful reminder that inequality, health and life expectancy are shaped in childhood by conditions that children cannot control. It comes amidst a sharp fall in healthy life expectancy across the UK, which this report shows is destined to continue without sustained action on the early years.
“No child’s future should be determined by their postcode yet too many children now live in communities facing a combination of challenges that directly affect their health and their prospects. This report shows that the circumstances in which children grow up - the homes they live in, the security of family incomes, the services they can reach and the power communities have over local decisions - shape their opportunities from the very start.
“These inequalities are not inevitable. National, regional and local government must act on this evidence, establish a strong minimum standard for every child and direct sustained investment into the building blocks of health in the places facing the greatest challenges. As power is devolved, children and communities must have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their lives.
“We see every day that trusted grassroots organisations build connection, confidence and influence, creating the conditions in which children and families can thrive. They must be treated as essential partners - and backed with long-term, flexible funding - if we are serious about ending the childhood lottery.”