Council leaders have warned that children's services are rapidly becoming unsustainable as they face a funding gap of £2bn by 2020.

Chair of the Local Government Association's children and young people board, Cllr Richard Watts, said: ‘Services caring for and protecting vulnerable children are now, in many areas, being pushed to breaking point.

‘Ahead of the General Election, all political parties must commit to fully funding children's social care to ensure vulnerable children get the appropriate support and protection they need.

‘Councils are committed to providing the best possible support to vulnerable children and their families, but the demand for children's social care services has more than doubled and is stretching local authority resources.'

Director of policy and campaigns at charity Action for Children, Kate Mulley, added: ‘Councils are caught between a rock and a hard place - having to satisfy increasing demand to support disadvantaged children and their families with limited resources.

‘Children's centres, short breaks for disabled children, and information and advice for young people are just some of the services affected. 

‘Government funding for these services will fall by 71% - from £3.2bn to less than £1bn between 2010 and 2020.'