eir teams doing their level best to provide what at times may be the only public service response to children and families, some of whom are in the deepest depths of deprivation, homelessness, and destitution due to their immigration status. 8 1 Safeguarding in a context of austerity, fragility and disparity 2022– 2024 The 153 statutory safeguarding local authorities in England are far from equal. They differ in population from 2,000 to 1.2 million, and in geography from tiny inner-city authorities to large rural counties. Outdated funding formulas and short-term grants offered within an otherwise austere financial context have further destabilised the uneven ground on which safeguarding services operate. In the wake of the austerity era and global pandemic, and in the context of the cost of living crisis, these pressures are felt across the public sector, reducing the resilience in the system to safeguard and support the needs of children, young people and families. Social and economic inequalities experienced by children and families and their direct relationship to safeguarding pressures are explored below. The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ (IFS, 2024a) report on changes to English councils’ funding and spending between 2010 and 2024 provides nuanced detail on the issues faced by local authorities since austerity measures were introduced in 2010. Looking ahead, the report identifies ‘two interconnected challenges on levels and distribution of funding’ (IFS, 2024a, p.2): • Councils’ overall core funding is 9% lower in real terms and 18% lower per person in 2024 compared with 2010, reflecting a 46% reduction in central government funding between 2010–11 and 2019–20 • Funding pressures and challenges fall disproportionality harder on poorer areas. In 2024–25, local auth