Number of children in state care increases

Government cuts and the rise in poverty have pushed the number of vulnerable children being taken into social care or placed on child protection, showing an increase for the fifth year, according to experts.

Official data obtained under the Freedom of Information (FOI) showed an 8% increase in the number of at-risk children under state care. Those who are placed on child protection plans, meaning they are closely monitored for protection by social workers, increased by 33% to 52,000, while those identified as “section 47 inquiries” who are in the process of recognising whether they are being abused or neglected, increased by 42% to 159,000.

Experts working within the child protection field said the 40% cut in local authority budgets as well as the increase in demand had put huge pressure on the departments and social workers offering services related to vulnerable children.

Alison O’Sullivan, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, blamed the rise on austerity and welfare cuts on the poorest families for the increasing number of vulnerable children in the UK.

 “What we are seeing is a consequence of austerity over an extended period. Pressures on the benefit system and the way it washes through will have a great impact on these families, many of whom were struggling in the first place.”

The information compiled by the Children & Young People Now magazine contained official statistics for the years 2010 to 2014 years, and compared them with figures from 2014-15. The data was sourced from 109 of 150 English local authority children’s services departments.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “There has been a long-running growth in demand for children’s social care in recent years as the population has increased.

“However, we know that councils are working hard to meet this demand – and more children are getting the targeted help they need.”

Massoud Shadjareh, the head of Islamic Human Rights Commission, believes that the austerity measures have been “damaging” to those who need more support including children.

“Children are going to be most affected (by the austerity measures). The response of the Conservative government to the economic situation has been very damaging for the ordinary people, those who are actually in the most need, and there is no one more vulnerable than children,” he told Press TV on Tuesday.                     

In the meantime, Enver Solomon, director of evidence and impact at National Children’s Bureau, said the increase in demand was expected. “Given the increasing number of families facing hardship there is no doubt that children’s social care remains under considerable strain as demand increases from families who are struggling to cope and children who are in need of care and protection,” Solomon noted.

An estimated £2.5bn was spent on children being looked after by the state. Some 50,000 children were in foster placements, while 3,350 were adopted. Nearly two thirds were taken into care because of abuse or neglect.

SU/HA

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