HUNDREDS of children in Dorset are at risk of neglect – and the problem is most critical in Weymouth and Portland, according to a report.

But council chiefs have pledged to do more to support vulnerable children and families, despite a backdrop of ‘continued austerity and increasing demand’.

As of March this year, there were 495 children in care, or 62.9 per 10,000 – higher than the regional average which stands at 53 per 10,000. And 415 children are subject to Child Protection Plans, meaning they are at risk of significant harm. This is 53 per 10,000, much higher than the national average of 34.1 per 10,000.

The report, set to go before a meeting of Dorset County Council’s health and wellbeing board, describes the business plan for the Dorset Safeguarding Children’s Board (DSCB) up to 2020. The DSCB was rated inadequate in May 2016 during an Ofsted inspection, while children’s services were found to require improvement.

The business plan notes that ‘considerable progress’ has been made since then in improving what the board does and its effectiveness.

But pressures remain. Last year’s Ofsted report said the number of looked-after children in Dorset had risen ‘significantly’ over the previous year, and put this rise down to ‘a sharper focus on identifying those children and young people whose welfare can only be secured by becoming looked after’.

A separate report to Dorset County Council’s cabinet in June this year revealed that the children in care budget is expected to overspend by £6m in the current financial year.

The business plan, set to be discussed at the meeting at County Hall next Wednesday, sets out how the board intends to deal with these issues, while making clear that its focus isn’t just on numbers, but on the experiences and outcomes of children.

It sets out three areas of focus, called ‘obsessions’, which are:

  • Reduce the need for children to come into the care of the local authority
  • Reduce the number of children at risk of significant harm
  • Prevent early neglect

Elaborating on how the board intends to achieve the first two aims, an emphasis is put on agencies working closely together. The board had been criticised for not fully engaging with agencies in 2016’s Ofsted report.

It also states that there should be an ‘early identification of need’ and that services should support families effectively where there is a risk that children may become looked after, or may be at risk of harm.

These methods are also crucial in preventing early neglect, according to the report, but there are other issues to consider. Councillors will be told that neglect is ‘the most common and pervasive type of child abuse’, with the report adding: “Increasing financial, housing and social pressures on families are contributing to a rising number of cases of neglect.”

The report outlines the extent of social and economic deprivation in Dorset. There are 12 areas out of 249 which are in the top 20 per cent most deprived nationally for multiple deprivation. Nine of these are in Weymouth and Portland.

The borough also has five neighbourhoods in the 20 per cent most deprived nationally for crime and seven (out of a total of nine across the whole of Dorset) which are in the top 20 per cent nationally for income deprivation.