'Baby P effect' hits social workers

In the past year there has been a nearly 30 per cent increase in the number of referrals and a 60 per cent jump in the number of child protection plans issued.

There are now 575 "looked after" children in the city, the majority in foster care – an increase of 61 since January 2009.

A report to the Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny Commission, which met at the city's Guildhall yesterday, said both the case of Baby P, who was 17 months old when he died in August 2007, and the recession were factors in the rise.

It said: "The pressures in Hull are consistent with regional and national pressures, partly following the Baby Peter case and the impact of Lord Laming's enquiry and the Government's response in terms of increased expectations on frontline services.

"Other factors including the impact of the economic downturn and the additional pressures that places on families reliant on benefits and low income families."

The extra cost of placing children in care is around 1.8m – an average of 35,000 a child. The report says there will be even more pressure on next year's budget if the numbers remain at the same level.

Afterwards Hull Council's director of children and young people's services Nigel Richardson said he believed the number of children in care would remain high "for some considerable time yet".

The committee heard that a second adoption panel, which approves prospective parents, is being set up to try to speed up the process of getting a child a permanent home.

The most recent figures show that 46 children are in the process of being adopted. However most of those in care – 302 at the last count – are fostered, around a third with relatives or friends .

In the last two years a lot of work has gone into trying to keep foster carers and their charges together, carers being offered out of hours support, including respite. There are around 160 under fives in care in Hull and over 100 between the ages of 13 and 15.

The report said fostering was considered the "preferred choice" in Hull, with carers being given a huge package of support, including training to deal with bad behaviour, access to a psychologist and free passes to local leisure centre.

Foster carers are now paid for their experience and skills that have acquired.

A council spokeswoman said the increase in the numbers had been mitigated by the fact many children were placed with relatives.

She said: "Our first port of call is to look at family members. If there's a family member who's interested they have to be trained and assessed in exactly the same way as mainstream carers. It's not an easy option for families but it is our first choice. Quite a number are successfully being located within their own families."

The case of baby Peter has had huge ramificiations for social services nationally.

The child suffered 50 injuries at the hands of his mother Tracey Connelly, her lover Steven Barker, and their lodger, Barker's brother, Jason Owen, at his London, despite receiving 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police over the final eight months of his life.

Barker, who is serving a life sentence, was recently attacked with a burning mixture of sugar and boiling water at Wakefield Prison.