Care cases up after Baby P trial

The Baby Peter case sparked another review of child protection

The number of applications to take children into care in England has risen sharply, which experts say may be linked to the Baby P abuse case.

Figures for March were the highest ever recorded by Cafcass, a public body which represents the interests of children in Family Courts.

There were 739 applications, compared with 496 in the month before the case.

Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey said such decisions were "hideously difficult" but the news was welcome.

It is not unusual for the number of care applications to rise after a high-profile case of child abuse, but the rate of increase following the case of Baby P - whose first name, Peter, was later made public - has been "unprecedented", said the BBC's Daniel Boettcher.

Prior to the publicity surrounding the case, care applications had been falling, but Cafcass said overall figures for 2008/09 - 6,465 cases - were in fact "broadly comparable" with previous years.

Baby Peter died aged 17 months in 2007, having suffered more than 50 injuries and despite being seen by the authorities on at least 60 occasions.

I think there's been an over-reaction, the numbers will drop back, but I believe there were too few children being considered for care Martin Narey, Barnardo's

He was on the child protection list at Haringey Council, north London. A Serious Case Review found his death could and should have been prevented.

In November Jason Owen, 36, from Bromley, and the 32-year-old boyfriend of Baby Peter's mother were found guilty of causing his death.

The boy's mother had pleaded guilty to the same charge. All three will be sentenced later this month.

An independent review is now also under way into how the council dealt with the case of a two-year-old girl raped by Baby Peter's mother's boyfriend.

Not 'needless'

Cafcass - the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service - said many of the recent applications involved children suffering from serious neglect who had in many cases been known to social services for a long time.

While the legal threshold for taking children into care had not changed, there had been an apparent shift in its interpretation by some local authorities since the Baby Peter trial, Cafcass reported.

Its chief executive, Anthony Douglas, said there was no evidence that children were being taken into care "needlessly".

"More children are now being safeguarded who would otherwise be at risk of neglect or harm," he said.

He added that while he believed the recent rise was related to cases such as Baby Peter, there had been a "general trend" of previously invisible groups of children coming under the spotlight.

"There has been a small element of risk aversion as a result of heightened media awareness," he said.

If the trend continued it might mean that more resources for care services are needed in the future, he added.

Mr Narey - who earlier this year called for more children to be taken from problem families and placed into care - said he was pleased that more social workers were taking that route.

"Making a decision on whether a child needs to be taken into care is hideously difficult. Sometimes, however, we need to consider that in the best interests of the child, care is the best option," he said.

"I think there's been an over-reaction; I think the numbers will drop back, but I believe there were too few children being considered for care and I welcome this movement."

Lord Laming, who reviewed child protection in England in the wake of Baby Peter's death, said recently that more training was needed for frontline staff.

He said he believed the state should "become a parent" to more children.