Local authorities make record number of care applications for single month

Local authorities made a record number of care applications in January, Cafcass has revealed.

Some 903 applications were made, the highest monthly figure since the organisation was set up in 2001.

Cafcass also reported that the number of applications between April 2011 and January 2012 was – at 8,403 – 12.4% higher when compared to the same period in the previous financial year.

It added that the applications received between May 2011 to January 2012 had been the highest ever recorded for each of these individual months.

The number of care applications has risen substantially since the Baby P case in 2008.

Cafcass' Chief Executive Anthony Douglas said: “Volatility and variation between local authorities is one thing, and we are used to that, but it is the double digit increase that makes it harder for the sector to gear up and to ensure the relevant resources are available for all children. Nearly every child involved needs love care and therapy, either back home or elsewhere.”

He added that all agencies needed to factor in these much larger increases into their planning systems, resource allocations, workforce development strategies and service contracts, “so that the most vulnerable children in the country continue to receive strong public services”.

Douglas said: “Of course, some authorities show significant decreases so best practice in demand management is also important to transfer. However, the profile of children entering the system is unwavering: an unquestionable need for care for the vast majority, and the urgent need to be given their normal childhood back and to be allowed to develop in a loving and supportive family environment.”

Publication of the Cafcass figures came in the same week that the Government accepted the key public law recommendation of the Family Justice Review. Ministers will introduce the proposed six-month time limit for care and supervision cases “as soon as reasonably practicable”.

However, the Law Society has since warned that speeding up care cases will not be achieved just through setting deadlines.