THE number of looked after children in the county has risen by 10 per cent in the last year, according to figures published by the Department for Education.

Figures for the year to March showed there was 765 looked after children in Worcestershire, up from 695 in 2016.

The data also showed that the number of children has risen from 640 in 2013, a climb of nearly 20 per cent in five years.

Cllr Andy Roberts, cabinet member with responsibility for children and families, said: "There has been an increase in the number of children looked after in Worcestershire and that is the case across the country.

"According to the latest official figures at the end of March of this year the children looked after rate in Worcestershire was 66 per 10,000 children under the age of 18, which is below the average for the West Midlands region.

"Our priority is to improve practice, putting children at the heart of everything we do.

"We are focused on improving the quality of our assessments and our managerial decision making.

"We are seeing a significant increase in the number of children leaving care and moving to stable, long term, safe and nurturing care arrangements.

"We are working hard to ensure those children who do need care to promote their welfare and protect them from harm have high quality care plans and high quality carers."

Figures also showed that a total of 1,010 children was looked after during the year with 330 children taken into care and 260 ceasing to be in care. The number of children adopted during the year was 45.

72 per cent of 19 to 21-year-olds no longer in care - who were looked after for at least three months after they turned 14 and for some time after they turned 16 - were in suitable accommodation.

Of those 19 to 21-year-olds, 105 were in education, training or employment.