‘Families in crisis’ and deprivation behind rise in children in care in Lincolnshire
The authority’s latest figures show that for every 10,000 children who live in Lincolnshire, 61 are currently under the care of the local authority, as of June this year
‘Families in crisis’ and deprivation are among the reasons for a rise in the number of children in care, officials have said.
Heather Sandy, deputy chief executive of Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) said that the reasons behind a rise in the number of children in the care system are ‘varied’ and complex.
She added: “We’re seeing an increased risk to children, we’re seeing increased harm to children, we’re seeing increased use of intervention by other agencies such as the police and we’re responding to that.
“We’re seeing families in crisis, we’re seeing deprivation and we’re seeing challenges across Lincolnshire’s communities which are really sad and unfortunately mean that sometimes the council needs to bring children into their care.”
The county council calculates the total number of looked-after children (children in foster care, residential care homes, or kinship care) relative to the local population – to measure the number of children in the care system.
The authority’s latest figures show that for every 10,000 children who live in Lincolnshire, 61 are currently under the care of the local authority, as of June this year.
This is above its target of 59 children per 10,000 children who live in Lincolnshire and marks an increase from 55 children per 10,000 children living in Lincolnshire in June 2025.
At an LCC children’s and culture scrutiny committee meeting on Friday, September 4, Ms Sandy also said that a national scheme to redistribute unaccompanied children seeking asylum had meant more of those children, who will stay in the care of the county council.
She added: “They come into our care and they’ll stay in our care. Previously we had very little of that because we’re not a county that would naturally see what we call spontaneous arrivals of unaccompanied children.
“We don’t have the ports or the particular highways networks that saw a lot of that.
“We’ve had a little of it but we don’t see a lot of it. As part of the national transfer scheme which seeks to distribute that kind of care across the country rather than having it just in those places where it arrives, we have seen an increase in the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
“What I would say is those numbers remain relatively low in Lincolnshire, but they have contributed to that trend over time because our early help can’t prevent it, so it’s an add-on each time, so they’ve contributed in terms of that as well.”
Ms Sandy went on to say that the authority has also seen an increase in the number of ‘families in crisis’ and said this has led to a rise in the children aged 15, 16 and 17 coming into the care system.
The council said it has developed a Children’s Services Transformation Programme and a dedicated Reunification Team which works to reduce the number of children in care and support timely reunification with their families wherever appropriate.