Almost 40,000 children are subject to a child protection plan, Children in Need Census reveals

More than 39,000 children in England are subject to a child protection plan, according to latest government statistics.

The government’s updated Children In Need Census has revealed that there are 39,100 children subject to such a plan, an increase of 3,400 on provisional data published earlier this year.

The most common reason for putting in place a child protection plan was abuse or neglect, which accounted for four out of 10 cases. Another common reason was “family dysfunction”, which was cited in 16 per cent of cases.

Hugh Thornbery, director of children’s services at Action for Children, said these latest figures are “just the tip of the iceberg” and show the need to invest in family support services.

He said: “The best way to tackle neglect is by working with vulnerable families, providing them with the support they need at an early stage. Targeted early intervention services for families not only successfully tackle neglect, but make financial sense too.

“Even in this tough economic climate, local authorities must continue to invest in early intervention services to save the suffering of vulnerable families and taxpayers’ money.”

The area with the highest rate of children classed as in need was the London Borough of Haringey with 895 children in need for every 10,000 children.

The area with the lowest rate was Herefordshire, where the figure per 10,000 children stands at 134.6.