Surrey County Council has closed 500 children’s social services cases so that it can focus on the most vulnerable children and young people.

VULNERABLE children were left in danger of abuse after a failure by county council staff to follow child protection procedures, a snap inspection showed.

COUNCIL chiefs are restructuring their social care services in a bid to further boost its work with vulnerable children. The move comes as the number of children subject to a child protection plan and classed as looked after in Hartlepool has risen in the past three months.

The second phase in the Children’s Workforce Development Council’s (CWDC) social worker recruitment campaign launches tonight.

A NEW social work team could be set up to meet increased demand for services at Wakefield Council. The council cabinet agreed to consider a bid to the authority’s budget for more staffing on Tuesday as they discussed a report that showed overstretched social workers are struggling to cope with increased workloads since the Baby P case.

YOUNG people could be at risk of harm because of delays in assessments for children in troubled situations by social workers.

The UK’s largest public sector union has warned that funding cuts would turn back the clock to the public sector recruitment and retention crisis of the 1990s.