A WARNING has been flagged up about child protection services in Worcestershire - with independent experts saying it "remains a risk".

The new head of an independent board which examines children's services in the county says he has concerns about a lack of progress and too many young people being in care.

It comes at a time when there is a near-record tally of 710 looked-after children in Worcestershire, costing more than £35 million a year to deal with.

The concern also comes in a period when a fresh inspection by the inspectors at Ofsted is now well overdue.

Derek Benson, who has been appointed new chairman of Worcestershire's Safeguarding Children Board, has told councillors he wants to see firm evidence improvements are being made.

He made his remarks during a meeting of the children and young people overview and scrutiny panel at County Hall, where the new director in charge of the service admitted it would be "a failure" if the numbers of looked-after youngsters were allowed to continue to rise in line with recent years.

Mr Benson said: "The pace of service improvement has not been where we would have hoped.

"What I am now looking for this year is evidence of practise enhancements."

He told the panel that he was "of the view" that the board "cannot be assured of the robustness of the safeguarding children's service".

His detailed report cited concerns over the 'flagging up' systems which alert social workers to at-risk youngsters, the increasing demand, inconsistent leadership, and being able to clearly link increased spending to better services.

Catherine Driscoll, the corporate director for children's services, said: "We've got around 710 looked-after children now and there was a forecast that if it continued to increase at the past rates, by 2018 it would reach 900.

"That was a real wake-up call for the local authority, the thought of 900 children in care would be a real failure for Worcestershire.

"We'll never be in a position where we have no children in care in Worcestershire, we do need to have some in that position and keep them safe - schools do have a big role to play, as does the health service."

The number of children in care across Worcestershire was 530 in 2009 but it has risen relentlessly since then.

To try and bring the figures down the council is focusing on an 'early help' strategy aimed at intervening quicker before problems escalate.

It was March 2012 the last time its children's social care services were examined by the watchdog, when a damning improvement notice dating back to 2010 was lifted.