93 social services cases unallocated

ALMOST 100 cases involving families over which concerns had been raised about the welfare of vulnerable children had yet to be allocated to social workers in the Western Trust area at the end of January this year.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Jun 2010, 13:33 BST

The number of unallocated cases across the Trust's gateway and family intervention services - the first point of contact for members of the public concerned about particular families and tasked mainly with child protection and family support - stood at 93 on January 31.

The family intervention teams operate from offices in Rossdowney House in Londonderry as well as in Omagh and Enniskillen.

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Social Services Minister Michael McGimpsey explained that whilst 93 cases remained unallocated across the WHSCT, the total number across Northern Ireland was significantly reduced since last summer.

He stated: "HSC Trusts monitor unallocated cases across the whole of the Gateway and Family Intervention services. The Trusts report that there were 705 unallocated cases as at 31 January 2010 which can be broken down by Trust as follows: Belfast (105), Northern (103), South (179), Eastern (253), Southern (77) and Western (93).

"The Department continues to monitor unallocated cases on a monthly basis. The number of unallocated cases has reduced by nearly half from 1398 as at 26 June 2009 to 705 as at 31 January 2010 - a reduction of 693.

"Whilst I welcome this reduction I am not complacent and will continue to strive to strengthen children's social service provision and safeguard our most vulnerable children."

Related topics:Western TrustThe DepartmentEnniskillenNorthern Ireland