It is estimated that 1.5 million people are victims of this crime every year. It is a serious offence, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Over the last 10 years, the number of convictions for this crime has nearly tripled, however, of more than two-thousand convictions for this offence in 2010, two-thirds received only a caution. More than half of the public have worried that this crime is happening in their area but fewer than two-thirds of those have felt able to tell someone about it.

The offence in question is child neglect and Action for Children are urging the government to review and update the law on child neglect so that children are protected, parents are supported rather than prosecuted, and neglect – the most common form of child abuse – is prevented.

The law which dates back to 1933 is limited in that it outlaws failure ‘to provide adequate food, clothing, medical aid or lodging’… ‘in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health’. It makes no mention of emotional neglect for instance and – in practice – prosecutions under the current law are unlikely unless some actual physical harm has come to the child in question. Also and the law sees harm in the context of individual events such as physical injuries and takes no account of cumulative harm where there is no specific and serious single event.

At the heart of the Action for Children campaign is the ambition to change the law so that neglect is more clearly defined and therefore statutory agencies such as the police and social services can intervene earlier where neglect is suspected. The harrowing evidence presented in cases of severe neglect often describes abuse continuing for many years before the police and the courts become involved and the abuse is finally stopped. By this stage, in serious cases, it is almost inevitable that parents will be sent to prison and children taken into care with serious physical and emotional damage already done.

More, better and earlier interventions for children, will help and encourage parents to tackle problems before they get to this stage and offer the real possibility of preventing neglect and keeping families together, parents out of prison and children out of care.

This is clearly better for families and especially the children concerned but is also better for the public purse. Court proceedings, police involvement, prison for parents and local authority care for children are all very expensive and are, in effect, paying the price for failing to intervene at a much earlier stage and at a much lower cost.

What the campaign, and a change in the law clearly does not seek to do is to criminalise more parents by being over prescriptive. The law must be clear on the circumstances under which harm to a child is likely through neglect. For instance, a YouGov poll for Action for Children found that parents are very clear that it is unacceptable and should be illegal to go away for a weekend leaving a ten year old alone at home. However, when asked a similar question about a fifteen year old, opinion was more split with a significant minority believing that this can be acceptable, and legal, in some circumstances.

All parents face often difficult choices about how they care for their children and no parent gets it right all of the time. Under a new law, no parent should worry that if, in an emergency or when under a lot of pressure, they fall down on their own high standards of parenting from time to time. However, if one-off incidents start to become a pattern, if occasional failings start to become the norm and where children begin to suffer the effects of neglect; then concerns must be raised and help offered as soon as possible to turn the situation around and ensure that a downward spiral of neglect does not get started.

A new law on neglect must clearly state what it seeks to prevent and define the conduct which causes or may cause neglect, so that parents and the general public can understand the problem and what might cause it. It should also introduce an appropriate sentencing response where neglect has occurred, such as rehabilitation and parenting support, as well as prison for the most serious cases.

In April next year the law will be 80 years old. Action for Children does not want to see that anniversary come and go without a commitment to change the law to give children the protection from neglect which they deserve.