COUNTY civic chiefs are stepping in to protect hundreds of children suffering abuse or neglect across Dorset.

Statistics released from the Department for Education have revealed that Dorset County Council put in place 589 child protection plans in the 2016/17 financial year.

Child protection plans, enforced under Section 47 of the Children Act, are put in place after a child is taken into police protection or put under an emergency protection order, or if there is a strong suspicion that a child will suffer significant harm.

On March 31, 2017 there were 415 children being supported over a course of a single day by authorities in the county council area following abuse or neglect.

The Department for Education said that the most common reason was neglect which accounted for 52 per cent of cases (308 children) while sexual abuse was less common with 41 cases being reported along with 38 for physical abuse and 202 for emotional abuse.

For every 1,000 children under 18 in Dorset, eight were under child protection plans, higher than the UK average of six in every 1,000 children with 66,410 receiving support from authorities across the country following neglect or abuse.

There were 10 per cent more child protection plans implemented in 2016/17 in Dorset than during the previous 12 months, but across England the number increased by five per cent, representing some 3,100 children.

Maris Stratulis, England manager for the British Association of Social Workers, said that the statistics reflected an increasing demand for services and the complexity of need of some of the most vulnerable children in this country.

She added: “Hardworking, dedicated social workers continue to make a difference every day.

“However, the government and inspection bodies need to acknowledge the ever-increasing demand for over-stretched children’s services, and the impact this has on services being delivered.”

In response, councillor Steve Butler, cabinet member for Safeguarding at Dorset County Council, said: “Reducing the number of children subject to a child protection plan has been - and remains - a top priority for us.

“The hard work of our social workers, safeguarding staff and partner agencies - as well as the families involved - has helped reduce the number of children subject to a plan.

“Our aim is to get to a point where demand for social care reduces because the right help has been given early on, children’s lives have improved and families feel more able to help themselves.

“One way we’re doing this is through family partnership zones, which bring together professionals who help children and young people in their local area.

“We also want to give our social workers more time to work with families, so that further interventions aren’t needed. We aim to do this by recruiting more social workers and are also running a development programme for our staff called Reinvigorating Social Work.”

Dorset County Council added that the number of children being supported as of March 31 this year is 250.