The latest National Statistics on social services for children produced by the Local Government Data Unit and the Welsh Assembly Government were released on 24 September 2008.

Key points from the latest release are:

• Local authorities received 43,400 referrals and completed 23,100 initial assessments.
• 26% of referrals were for children who had previously been referred to the same local authority.
• At 31st March 2008, local authorities were providing services to 23,600 children in need.

The full release can be downloaded from the Statistics for Wales website.