Children are 'looked after' under government legislation if they are subject to a care order or if they are provided accommodation on a voluntary basis for more than 24 hours. Social services for children in England and Wales are provided under the provisions of the Children Act 1989 which came into force in October 1991. The largest group - 22,300 children were aged 10 to 15. Each social services department holds a central register which lists all the children in the area who are considered to be suffering from or likely to suffer significant harm.
Registration takes place at a child protection conference.
In England and Wales last year there were 31,000 children on registers. The peak was in 1991 with 43,300 cases. The main reason for being placed on a register continued to be neglect with 13,900 cases. This is defined as persistent neglect or failure to protect a child from exposure to any kind of danger, including cold or starvation, or a failure to carry out important aspects of care leading to significant impairment of a child's health or development. The second highest category is physical abuse with 9,100 cases.