NEARLY 30 babies in Barrow are said to have fallen into the care system, according to a council report.

A meeting heard that children’s services in the town are seeing much greater demand than elsewhere in the county.

Figures presented at a meeting of Cumbria County Council’s local committee for Barrow said 26 babies were due to be put up for adoption or fostering.

Anne Burns, the authority’s cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We have got to stop these youngsters coming into the system to start with.

“We have got to do that early work to stop this happening.

“We need to do more on early pregnancy and contraception. We need to make sure we get children paired with families as quickly as possible to give them the best life chance.

Reacting to the growing number of children in care across the country, Ormsgill councillor Bill McEwan said: “It’s up to the government to fulfill its promises and provide proper support to these children.

Jonathan Taylor, a senior manager for children and young people in Barrow and South Lakeland, presented statistics that showed there were 165 children with a 'child in need' plan in the town - a significantly higher rate than the Cumbria-wide average.

One per cent of these children are unborn babies, according to the report presented.

He also said there were 123 children subject to child protection plans - a rate of 93 per 10,000 people, higher than the Cumbria-wide figure of 62.

There are also 159 looked after children.

The meeting also heard there were 44 care leavers in Barrow receiving support from Cumbria County Council.

Mr Taylor said: “Demand continues to grow. It’s a significant amount for the current team to process so we can get a positive outcome for those babies. We have seen a significant increase in babies coming through the system.

He said the county council had seen success in reducing the number of teenagers in the system.

“It’s been a really successful time. I can’t remember the last time a teenager was brought in care.”