Angus child protection register numbers drop

THERE were 74 children in Angus on the Child Protection Register in March – a drop of 18 on the previous year, Angus Council social work and health committee heard at their meeting on Thursday.

The number of child protection case conferences remained the same at 163 during both years.

The figures were drawn from the Angus Child Protection Committee’s (CPC) annual report, which detailed the work done during the past year to protect the county’s most vulnerable children.

Convener of social work and health Councillor Alison Andrews said: “During the past year, much work has been done to ensure that not only staff, but members of the public know when, how and where to report a concern about a child. We will continue to make this a priority.”

She added: “The committee is facing challenges, including the increasing numbers of children in need of protection due to parental substance misuse and the difficult financial climate facing all public services.

“However, the HMIe inspection of January 2011 highlighted positive progress in the quality of service provision for the children in Angus in need of protection.

“The success of the CPC depends on good working with other local multi agency partnerships and we will continue to strengthen and develop these important links.”