THE number of children in council care has risen in the first half of 2016, with 889 children in the district now classed as “looked-after.”

A new report into the workloads of Bradford Council’s children’s social care staff reveals that the number rose from just under 850 in December to almost 890 at the end of June.

However, the figure is still below the recent high of 915 looked-after children, in September 2014.

The report also shows that the number of adoptions dropped in the past year, 56 compared to 80 in the previous 12 months.

The report, which will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s children’s services scrutiny committee on Tuesday, says that the number of looked-after children equates to 64 in every 10,000, higher than the national average of 60 per 10,000.

Written by Di Watherston, head of service social work, the document says the rise is down to both an increase of children coming into the system, and a decrease in children leaving it.

She said: “Legal services are experiencing difficulties due to capacity and increase in demand, this is impacting in getting discharge of care orders in court.

“Strategies for dealing with this are being considered.”

The report also reveals that in the past year there was a sharp rise in the numbers of Slovakian children put into care. From February to June 2015 there were two children of Slovakian nationality put into care, while in February to June 2016 there were 13.

The number of children put in child protection plans has risen from 469 to 517 in the past 12 months.

Of those children placed on a plan, 48 per cent had suffered emotional abuse, 34 per cent neglect, nine per cent physical abuse and nine per cent sexual abuse.

And the percentage of children placed on a plan for the second time in two years also increased, from 5.4 per cent last year to 6.4 per cent.

Discussing the workloads of children’s social care staff, the report reveals that there are 16 fewer full-time social workers in the council now, 176, than there were in June 2015.

The average caseload of a full-time social worker has risen from 13.8 last year to 14.4 cases this summer. Despite the rise this figure is still below the national average.

The committee meets in City Hall at 4.30pm.