EXTRA support is being made available for the emotional health and well being of children looked after by the county council.

Figures show an increase in young people in the county’s care with social, emotional and mental health needs up from 1,335 to 1,463 over the course of a year.

Interim director of social services Nick Jarman said that the issues were often common among children who came from disruptive backgrounds but that additional supported was planned in Dorset from a specialist clinical psychologist.

He told Thursday’s people and communities committee that mental health services for young people in Dorset also offered good support compared to some parts of the country where waiting times could be as long as a year. He said the local wait was now down to 4-6 weeks.

The same committee also heard that young people who leave care in Dorset are four times more likely to not be in education, training or employment, compared to young people of a similar age.

The latest figures available, for March 2018, show that 20 per cent were without work, training or full time education, up by 4.3 per cent a year earlier.

By comparison only 4.5 % of young people of similar age, not coming from care, were in the same position, although this had also increased, up from 3 per cent a year earlier.