Two years since the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) last measured pressures on local authority safeguarding services, it has reassessed the challenges facing councils.
The 2015/16 study, phase five of the Safeguarding Pressures research series, found that among the 132 councils that provided evidence, few of the challenges are new, but the same issues that were raised in previous phases have become "more complex, urgent, and prevalent".
It finds that there is the "toxic trio" of domestic abuse, parental mental health and parental substance misuse are a major and increasing reason for child protection involvement with families.
The number of section 47 enquiries conducted by councils, which take place when a local authority identifies there is reasonable cause to suspect the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm, have risen by 4.9 per cent in the past year.
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