Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council hit the headlines in 2014 when an independent report into child sexual exploitation concluded 1,400 children, mainly girls, had been abused over a period of more than a decade.
The report was critical of child protection and safeguarding services, and a subsequent Ofsted inspection rated the Yorkshire town's children's services as "inadequate".
A new management team, led by director of children's services Ian Thomas, was inserted in January 2015 to turn the department around (see DCS view, below).
According to latest estimates, 56,400 of the town's 204,400 population are aged under 18. Meanwhile, 95 per cent of Rotherham residents are UK-born, 6.6 per cent are unemployed and 18.7 per cent on means-tested benefits.
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