Middlesbrough, Hounslow and Bradford have been identified as the toughest places in England for children to grow up, according to a report by the Children's Commissioner.
The Childhood Lottery, set to be published on Monday, examines the challenges facing young people across every local authority in the country.
Nottingham, Halton in Cheshire and Peterborough are among other areas where childhood is particularly difficult, while Cheshire East, Merton and Surrey have been named as the most favourable places to grow up.
State of emergency warning
On Monday, Dame Rachel de Souza, England's Children's Commissioner, is expected to deliver a speech in which she will warn of a "state of emergency" in certain communities.
The Childhood Lottery, a new dataset and interactive map, draws together more than 160 measures to assess the greatest difficulties encountered by children.
Each area has been assigned an overall score, with rankings built upon nearly 100 metrics covering access to health and social care, education and housing, safety, opportunities for play and whether children have a say in decisions taken by local leaders.
Postcode lottery findings
The most challenging places to grow up have been identified as Middlesbrough, Hounslow, Bradford, Nottingham, Halton, Peterborough, Leicester, Liverpool, Sunderland and Medway.
Cheshire East, Merton, Surrey, Richmond upon Thames, Hertfordshire, Cheshire West and Chester, Haringey, Leicestershire, Central Bedfordshire and Wokingham are identified as the least challenging areas for young people.
The report concludes "the postcode lottery is real" and highlights stark differences in children's experiences based on where they grow up.
It finds there are "unacceptable outcomes and levels of service delivery for children in too many parts of the country", representing a "state of emergency" in certain regions.
Regional disparities and recommendations
For instance, of the more than one million youngsters who had active referrals to children and young people's mental health services in 2024-25, the median number of days from referral to second contact in Leicester was six, compared with 118 in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
The report revealed that all regions feature in the 25 locations where the data indicates childhood is most difficult, including Somerset in the South West, Birmingham in the West Midlands, and Hounslow in London.
In a speech on Monday, Dame Rachel is expected to urge Andy Burnham's Government to guarantee children's outcomes and life chances are not dictated by their postcode.
The commissioner is expected to say that "every single local area in England has work to do to make lives better for their children".
"In some communities, these challenges amount to nothing less than a state of emergency. Not for every child. Not everywhere," she will say. "But what we see here is a litany of failure. In so many areas of the country, children are being radically failed."
Dame Rachel is anticipated to state that devolution presents "an opportunity" and is a "unique chance to remove the extreme inequality and unfairness" highlighted in the report.
She is set to say: "New powers will mean new structures, and therefore new opportunities to think about, listen to, and deliver for children.
"Local areas must be provided with support from central government to raise standards for children across health, social care, housing and communities, with urgent action where it falls beyond a set level.
"This needs to be our response to the emergency."
Dame Rachel is additionally expected to put forward a series of recommendations, amongst them the appointment of a deputy mayor for children in every strategic authority.
The Childhood Lottery draws on data compiled by the Children's Commissioner, together with figures from the Department for Education and 10 other public bodies.
The report is due to be launched at an event in Westminster on Monday.
