Children’s services are approaching the point of crisis following a jump in demand, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned.
Department for Education figures showed the number of children subject to child protection plans increased by more than 2,700 over the past year - the biggest increase in four years.
Some 53,790 children were receiving support via a child protection plan on 31 March – a 5.3% increase on the previous year and the largest rise since 2014.
The numbers represent an 84% increase in the number of children on plans over the past decade.
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