Number of young people on the child protection register falls in Swansea
The figures were in a child and family services report discussed by councillors
Last updated 27th Nov 2025
The number of looked-after children and young people on the child protection register fell in Swansea in 2024-25 but a shortage of foster carers is a concern, a meeting heard.
There were 592 looked-after children throughout the year compared to 603 in 2023-24 while the number of young people on the child protection register was 433 throughout the year compared to 461 the previous 12 months.
The figures, which fluctuate from week to week, were in a child and family services report discussed by a panel of councillors.
They heard there has been a slight rise in referrals of children who were missing or suspected of being exploited or trafficked and this was partly because councils from other areas continued to place some of their looked-after children in residential homes or what’s known as supported accommodation because properties in Swansea were cheaper.
Cllr Paxton Hood-Williams, convenor of the child and family services scrutiny panel, asked how many of its looked-after children Swansea Council was placing out of the area.
Julie Davies, head of child and family services, replied that it was 20 of the circa 470 who were deemed to be looked-after as of last month. “It’s a decreasing number and it’s only as a last resort,” she said.
A report before the panel said foster carer recruitment was a priority as the council’s in-house cohort of carers was below required levels, creating reliance on external fostering agencies. Of the 240 fostering placements in 2024-25 a total of 89 were with fostering agencies – an increase from the 66 out of 230 placements in 2023-24.
Ms Davies said there has been more interest from prospective foster carers over the last six months while the report said the in-house service had received a positive inspection from Care Inspectorate Wales.
In terms of adoption services Ms Davies said this was a bit of a struggle reflecting a UK trend since the Covid pandemic and a national piece of work was being carried out looking at why adoption and foster carer numbers were declining.
The report also had a section about allegations of harm or neglect of children by professionals such as teaching staff and support workers in Swansea. There were 227 such allegations in 2024-25 of which 139 were ongoing. A total of 88 investigations concluded during the year of which 60 were substantiated.
During the meeting councillors were told there was significant progress in the completion of assessments for young people seen by child and family services staff and that the department received 190 compliments in 2024-25. One teenager’s compliment was: “I’m going to go get my GCSE results in half an hour and I just wanted to thank you because you are the main reason I got through Year 9 and 10.”
Child and family services includes a “single point of contact” team which received 15,261 contacts from police, health and probation workers, and members of the public among others in 2024-25. This resulted in 724 home visits.
Recruiting and retaining social workers is a national challenge and Swansea is not immune but Ms Davies said vacancies in one particular section were now at 10-12% compared to a worrying 50% two years ago. She said child and family services currently had five agency social workers.
Cllr Louise Gibbard, cabinet member for care services, said some staffing pressures remained and that demand was becoming more complex. “But I think this report shows there is an awful lot to be proud of,” she said.