Written question asked by John Bercow (Conservative) on Friday, 9 January 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 13 January 2009. It was answered by Baroness Hughes of Stretford (Labour) on Thursday, 22 January 2009 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Children: Protection

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008;

Answer: 29,200 children were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2008. In the year ending 31 March 2008:"71 per cent. of children referred to children's social care received an initial assessment within seven working days.""5 per cent. of children whose child protection plan was discontinued were a subject of a plan for two or more years.""14 per cent. of children became the subject of a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time."80 per cent. of core assessments for children's social care were carried out within 35 working days of initial assessments in the year ending 31 March 2008, 78 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2007 and 74 per cent. in the year ending 31 March 2006.These figures have been taken from the statistical first release ““Referrals, Assessments and Children and Young People who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, England—year ending 31 March 2008””, which can be found at the following link:"http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000811/index.shtml."Figures are for England only.

Secondary information