Thousands more children on child protection plans

There has been an 11 per cent increase in the number of children subject to child protection plans in the past year, latest government statistics show.

Figures released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, show that the number of children becoming subjects of protection plans in England rose from 34,000 in the year ending 31 March 2008 to 37,900 in 2009.

This means that the rate was 31 children in every 10,000 in 2008 rising to 34 in every 10,000 in 2009.

But the national figures hide variations across local authorities with some areas seeing steep rises and others experiencing significant falls.

The rate per 10,000 children rose from 21 in Rochdale in 2008 to 41 in 2009. While in North East Lincolnshire the rate nearly halved from 31 to 16.

Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of the Who Cares? Trust said: “The considerable variation among local authorities is partly the result of economic and social factors like deprivation and availability of local services to support families.

“It’s also explained by differences in practice among social work teams. One authority might have a heavily risk-averse culture, leading to more children being placed on child protection plans and on care orders. Others might place greater emphasis on keeping children with birth families, or may allow their decision-making to be influenced by the high cost of taking children into care.”