Councils say the loss of a grant to help improve their safeguarding children services is a reason for major funding gaps in their budgets for the next financial year.

Cambridgeshire council is facing a 1m shortfall in its childrenand families budget. "One reason is the loss of 438,000 from theSafeguarding Children Grant, which we're expected to find frommainstream resources," said Conservative councillor Shona Johnstone, thecouncil's cabinet member for children and young people's services.

Rosalind Turner, director for children and young people at SuffolkCounty Council, said: "I'm very happy for money not to be ringfenced ifit's still there, but it's not."

Kent County Council claim that the 1.8m they received last yearfrom the grant has not been added to the new Children's ServicesGrant.

A Department for Education and Skills' spokeswoman said the grant wasalways intended to last for two years and that its loss had been takeninto account when setting the level of other funding.

- See Analysis, p12.