RBWM children's services feel effects of Baby P case

Repercussions of the Baby P case are being felt in the Royal Borough, with extra pressures set to result in a budget overspend of nearly £1million on children's services.

The number of children being taken into care has leapt up this year, but in contrast there has been a drop in the number of people coming forward to work with them.

Council chiefs say it is a knock-on effect from the high profile case of Baby Peter, which shocked the nation in 2008.

Figures in a report to the cabinet last Thursday revealed there have been more cases dealt with since April than the whole of the previous year.

The department is predicting it will go £986,000 over its budget for 2009/10.

Head of children's services, Cllr Eileen Quick, said: "This is a huge budget pressure but we will be finding a way round it because we take safeguarding children very seriously in the borough and there's no way we are going to let the standard of our service drop."

Read the full story on page eight of today's Advertiser.