Children of prisoners 'overlooked'

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Barnardo's found that although government policies refer to the children as "disadvantaged", only 20 out of 208 UK local authorities and health boards made any reference to the group in their children's plan.

The charity is urging the government to do more to protect the estimated 160,000 youngsters who have a parent in jail.

In its report called Every Night You Cry, Barnardo's said children of prisoners were about three times more at risk than their peers of anti-social or delinquent behaviour and more than twice as likely to have mental health problems during their life.

Just under two-thirds of boys with a convicted parent go on to offend, it adds. The report said: "These children undoubtedly constitute a group 'at risk'. By failing to buffer the impact of parental imprisonment on children, we are failing to break the cycle - not only of offending behaviour, but of a whole spectrum of poor outcomes."

Barnardo's found poor awareness of the issue across the country. In England, just 13 out of 150 authorities' young person plans made reference to children of prisoners as a vulnerable group. The figure was two out of 22 for Wales, four out of 32 in Scotland and one in four in Northern Ireland.

Barnardo's is recommending:

:: Systematic collection of data on the children of prisoners to ensure that they are identified at the earliest opportunity and their needs addressed;

:: Courts to be supplied with information on the impact on the children of a defendant's sentence;

:: Guidance to ensure that the needs of prisoners' children are specifically addressed in children's plans.