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Children: Protection

Volume 486: debated on Thursday 22 January 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children on the Child Protection Register were taken into care in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (241400)

The information requested is not collected centrally.

The number of children who were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March and who were also looked after on that date is shown in the following table.

Children who were the subject of a child protection plan (CPP) who were also looked after on that date1: Years at 31 March 1997 to 2008—Coverage: England

Numbers

Percentage of total who were the subject of a plan2

1997

7,900

24

1998

7,800

25

1999

7,900

25

2000

7,100

23

2001

5,400

20

2002

4,600

18

2003

4,200

16

2004

3,400

13

2005

3,000

12

2006

2,600

10

2007

2,400

9

2008

2,200

8

1Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

2The number of looked after children who were the subject of a CPP at 31 March, expressed as a percentage of all children who were the subject of a CPP at that date.

The latest figures on the numbers and percentage of children subject to child protection plans or placed on the Child Protection Register were published in a Statistical First Release (SFR) 24/2008 ‘Referrals, Assessments and Children and

Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, England—Year ending 31 March 2008’ on 16 September 2008. A copy of this release is available on my Department's website:

www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008; (247004)

(2) what percentage of children referred to children’s social care received an initial assessment within seven working days in 2007;

(3) what percentage of child protection plans last for two or more years;

(4) what percentage of children became the subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time in 2007;

(5) what percentage of core assessments for children’s social care were carried out within 35 working days of their commencement in the last three years.

29,200 children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008. In the year ending 31 March 2008:

71 per cent. of children referred to children’s social care received an initial assessment within seven working days.

5 per cent. of children whose child protection plan was discontinued were a subject of a plan for two or more years.

14 per cent. of children became the subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time.

80 per cent. of core assessments for children’s social care were carried out within 35 working days of initial assessments in the year ending 31 March 2008, 78 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2007 and 74 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2006.

These figures have been taken from the statistical first release “Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, England—year ending 31 March 2008”, which can be found at the following link:

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000811/index.shtml.

Figures are for England only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2008, Official Report, column 1114W, on children: protection, how many representations concerning child protection his Department has referred to the Commission for Social Care Inspection or Ofsted since its inception. (247865)

It is not possible to quantify the number of cases referred to inspectorates by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The Department receives representations across a wide range of issues including on child protection, mostly in the form of correspondence. Some of these are shared with inspectorates for information whilst other matters may be passed to them on a more formal basis where specific action may be appropriate. In addition, local authorities are required in particular circumstances to notify Ofsted of the details of particular events, including those relating to serious incidents involving children or with respect to incidents occurring in settings for which Ofsted has regulatory functions. Other issues raised by correspondents with the Department may be pursued directly with local authorities or other agencies through the Department's regional Government office network.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he plans to take to assist social workers in protecting children. (247943)

In April 2008, we announced a £73 million package of support for social workers who work with children and families. This package includes the Newly Qualified Social Worker pilot programme which will support social workers in their first year of practice including through improved supervision by their managers. Other pilot projects will seek to address the development needs of those in the second and third years of practice; to recognise and encourage more experienced and skilled social workers to stay in frontline posts; and to develop management and leadership skills. More information on this package of work which is being delivered by the Children’s Workforce Development Council can be found here:

http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/social-work

In December 2008 we announced a Social Work Taskforce which will consider what makes a difference to outcomes for children in terms of social work practice. The taskforce will make recommendations to Government later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research his Department is funding into effective child protection practice; and which such research it has funded in the last three years. (249533)

Under the Safeguarding Children Research Initiative DCSF, in partnership with the Department of Health, have commissioned a suite of studies to support the Government's programme of reform to improve early recognition and cost-effective interventions to protect children. The Safeguarding Children Research Initiative runs until 2010 and includes 11 studies covering three themes: recognition of neglect and emotional abuse; impact of interventions; and inter-agency working. In addition, the Department has commissioned various other projects to inform effective practice in safeguarding children.

The following table gives a full list of studies.

Table of Studies

Safeguarding Research Initiative

Report title

Contractors

Theme—Recognition of neglect and emotional abuse

1. Neglected adolescents: a review of the literature and the preparation of guides for multi-disciplinary teams and young people

M. Stein (University of York)

2. Noticing and helping the neglected child: a review of the literature

B. Daniel, J. Taylor, J. Scott and M. Barbour, (University of Dundee)

3. Does training in a systematic approach to emotional abuse improve the quality of children's services?

D. Glaser and V. Prior (Institute of Child Health)

Theme—Impact of interventions

4. A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions in reducing emotional abuse

J. Barlow and A. Schrader McMillan (University of Warwick)

5. Case management and outcomes for neglected children: a six year follow-up study of neglected children who have been looked after and reunified

E. Farmer and E. Lutman, (University of Bristol

6. Systematic reviews of interventions following physical abuse: helping practitioners and expert witnesses improve the outcomes of child abuse

P. Montgomery, P. Ramchandani, F. Gardner and G. Bjomstad, (University of Oxford)

7. Outcomes for looked after children placed for reasons of abuse or neglect: the consequences of staying in care or returning home.

J. Wade, N. Biehal and I. Sinclair (University of York)

Theme—Interagency Working

8. The outcomes of interprofessional training to safeguard children

J. Carpenter and E. Szilassy (University of Bristol), and S. Hackett (University of Durham)

9. Understanding parents' information needs and experiences when professional concerns of non-accidental injury were not substantiated

L. Haines and S. Komulainen (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health)

10. Inter-agency working Conflicts of interest for GPs in safeguarding children

H. Tompsett (Kingston University)

11. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the new Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs),

A. France and E. Munro (CRSP, University of Loughborough)

Overview

12. Overview Report of the Safeguarding Research Initiative

H. Ward (CCfR, University of Loughborough)

Quality Matters Research Initiative—selected studies

Some studies included in the Quality Matters Research Initiative, which ran alongside and informed the Quality Protects programme, continue to inform the Safeguarding of children agenda.

Report title

Contractors

The response of child protection practices and procedures to children exposed to domestic violence or drug or alcohol abuse within their families

H. Cleaver et al (University of London)

The reunification of looked after children with their parents: patterns, interventions and outcomes

E. Farmer and T. O'Neill (University of Bristol)

Outcomes for children placed with family and friends as a results of care proceedings

J. Hunt and S. Waterhouse (University of Oxford)

Other current safeguarding research:

Report title

Contractors

Safeguarding and promoting child welfare—how have public organisations responded to Section 11 of the Children's Act? (‘Section 11 Audit’)

Ipsos MORI

Preventing Childhood Deaths: a Study of ‘Early Starter’ Child Death Overview Panels in England

P. Sidebotham, J. Fox, J. Horwath, C. Powell and S. Perwez (Universities of Warwick, Sheffield and Southampton)

Preventing Future Child Deaths—Supplementary Survey 2008

P Sidebotham (University of Warwick)

Analysis of Serious Case Reviews (2005-2007)

M. Brandon, (University of East Anglia)

Protecting and Promoting the well-being of very young children: a prospective study of babies in need or at risk of significant harm.

H. Ward (CCfR, University of Loughborough)

Costs and Consequences of Child Welfare Interventions (the Cost Calculator)

H. Ward (CCfR, University of Loughborough)

Forced Marriage: towards understanding the scale of the problem and the way in which services respond to cases involving children and young people

National Centre for Social Research and Dr. Nazia Khanum

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps he has taken in respect of child protection in Birmingham. (250071)

In response to Ofsted's judgment of 'inadequate' for 'Staying Safe' in Birmingham city council's 2008 Annual Performance Assessment (APA), officials from DCSF met with the Council on 17 December to identify what action is being taken to tackle the underlying causes of inadequate performance. Ministers will decide shortly the form of any intervention that may be necessary to bring about swiftly the required improvements to the service and improve outcomes for children and young people.