Gloucestershire social services has pledged it will not turn away children in need despite the enormous financial pressures it faces.

Director Margaret Sheather has made the promise in response to claims that departments around the country are so under pressure children could die as a result.

Moira Gibb, president of the Association of Directors of Social Services, said over the weekend that children could die if the government doesn't green light to instant investment.

The same pressures were blamed for Gloucestershire's £3.4 million social services overspend last year. The social services annual budget is £80 million.

There are usually around 200 children on the child protection register at any one time and social workers have to deal with 800 referrals each year. About one out of eight referrals will end up on the register.

Mrs Sheather was adamant that anyone with a serious problem in Gloucestershire would not be turned away, despite the financial problems.

"We are issuing specific advice to social workers. Staff are very conscious of it and we have to support them and the difficult decisions they have to make," she said.

Mrs Sheather admitted that "there are always risks with those type of decisions," but also warned that in some cases there is little social workers can do.

"Moira Gibbs wouldn't have made the comments she did if she didn't think that risk was there, but I don't think we are at that point in Gloucestershire," she said. "We are able to deal with all child protection assessments which come in."

Referring to the financial position, Mrs Sheather stressed that "the money was overspent on services we needed." She added that although Gloucestershire had seen financial pressures on its child care services, it has not suffered as badly as other departments in inner cities.

"It's been clear in most local authorities that children's care pressures have been increasing steadily for the last two or three years," she said. The problem is made worse by staff shortages and a lack of people volunteering to be foster parents.

Used courtesy of the Gloucestershire Echo