Department for Education publishes latest child protection figures

Protection plans highlight all the potential risks faced by a vulnerable child, as well as the steps that need to be taken to ensure their safety, in order to protect them from neglect and abuse.

According to the DfE figures, Blackpool Council has more child protection plans in place than anywhere else in the country and, with 157 children affected per 10,000 in the town, the number is three times the national average.

Blackpool councillor and cabinet member for children’s services, John Jones, said that there had been a “positive improvement” in how child protection is managed, but he highlighted that it is the poorest borough in England.

He added: “The population is highly transient, posing difficult challenges for our social care services.

“However, Blackpool has worked hard to improve services and to ensure we are able to support as early as possible.”

Other areas that followed closely behind Blackpool were Nottingham and Coventry, with the former having 112 child protection plans per 10,000 children and the latter having 111.

Ofsted has rated Blackpool Council’s children’s services as “requires improvement” twice during the course of the last three years, but it is hoped that recently awarded Lottery funding will go towards solving the issue.

The money will help to reduce the number of parents who take drugs and regularly exceed the recommended alcohol consumption guidelines, in addition to tackling mental health issues and domestic violence.

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