Academic claims difficulty putting children into care could explain rise in cases of serious violence

A significant rise in the number of cases of children aged up to 10 being treated for assault injuries in hospitals in England and Wales could be a result of local authorities finding it more difficult to take children into care, a leading academic has claimed.

A study of 44 accident and emergency wards by Cardiff University found that the number of children who had been victims of serious violence rose by 7.5% in 2009.

Professor Jonathan Shepherd of the university’s Violence and Society Research Group told Family Law: “The anecdotal evidence we are getting from hospitals tells us that this is a real increase. The question is why. One explanation is that it is more difficult for children to be taken into care by local authorities, and that may mean more young children are staying in risky home situations than they were before.”

The Family Proceedings Fees Order, which came into force in May 2008 and saw a huge increase in the court fees that local authorities had to pay in care and supervision proceedings, was highlighted as a possible factor.

A recent review commissioned by the Ministry of Justice concluded that the fees should be scrapped.