
Statistics published by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) show that in March 2017, a total of 1,288 care applications were made - the second highest monthly figure on record.
This takes the total number of car applications for the financial year 2016/17 to 14,544, a 13.8 per cent increase on the 2015/16 figure of 12,792, which was itself a record for a single financial year.
In September 2016, England's most senior family court judge said the record rise in care applications signalled a looming "crisis".
Sir James Munby said the reasons for the increases in care applications are little understood, and although investigations are under way, much more research on the issue is necessary as a matter of urgency.
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