News

The amount local authorities spend on services for children in need has risen by more than a quarter, new figures from the department of health show.

The statistics from the 2001 comprehensive national survey on children in need show that the cost of providing services to 376,000 children in need rose 26 per cent from £40.1 million per week in 2000 to £50.4 million in 2001.

Children in need received an average of 3.4 hours of staff time per week.

Of the total number of children in need 69,000 were looked after children and 12,600 were asylum seekers.

The amount spent on each child in need rose just under 30 per cent, compared with a 15 per cent increase for looked after children. Children being supported within their families benefited most with a 33 per cent rise.