Cuts ‘will put vulnerable children at risk’

The financial crunch facing councils’ children’s services teams could put more youngsters’ lives at risk, councils and legal experts have warned.

Two separate children’s services issues to have arisen in recent days have exposed the extent of the challenge facing teams protecting vulnerable children in the post-Comprehensive Spending Review era of public spending austerity.

The Local Government Association today warned that ‘deep cuts to local government’s finances combined with higher demand for child protection work since the baby Peter Connolly case [at Haringey LBC] will expose very difficult questions for councils over how they can keep children safe’.

Research by the LGA has uncovered new evidence of staffing problems faced by council social work teams at a time when demand for social work services has soared following the ‘Baby P’ case, making ‘urgent reform to the child protection system more urgent than ever to prevent vulnerable children slipping through the safety net’.

The LGA’s annual local government workforce survey shows that 85% of councils with retention difficulties struggle to keep children’s social workers – by far the most problematic sector for local government retention.

The LGA has long pushed for social work reforms designed to free up staff time and reduce bureaucracy and a government-commissioned review could shortly make recommendations to facilitate changes.

But Baroness Shireen Ritchie, chair of the LGA’s children’s panel, said: ‘Work to address this [problem] is taking place, but not fast enough. Action is needed now to make sure councils can keep the social workers they have.’

Meanwhile, the Law Society has warned that abused children will be at greater risk after the government abandoned plans to abolish expensive court fees for cases. The former Labour government was due to abolish court fees for children’s cases altogether after heavy criticism followed a 2008 hike in fees from £150 to more than £4,825. But the coalition has now ditched the proposal.

Children’s charities, councils and other public bodies had warned the fees would discourage people from taking cases to court – hindering action against abuse.

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