MORE than 200 children in Thurrock are subject to child protection plans.

The figures, released as part of Thurrock Council’s annual report on children’s social care, show 119 children are subject to the plan because of neglect, 57 because of emotional abuse, 17 because of physical abuse, 12 for sexual abuse and five for multiple reasons.

A child protection plan is where professionals from the local authority work to protect the child and support the family, with the aim of getting the child off the plan.

If the risks to the child do not reduce, or become more serious, the council considers what further action should be taken.

Thirty five per cent of the 210 children have been on a child protection plan for between six and 11 months, and a quarter have been on it for one to two years.

More than 80 per cent of the children on the plan are identified as white British.

The report, by the cabinet member for children’s social care, Cllr Charles Curtis, was to be presented to Thurrock’s full council meeting on Wednesday.

It said: “The council carries the foremost statutory role in investigating allegations of abuse to children and considering whether children need additional protection within their families or by being removed from their homes.

“In Thurrock, our services have been externally appraised on two separate occasions in the last year.

“A review in September 2010 demonstrated our strengths in leadership and staffing, the Local Safeguarding Board, staff training, financial and performance management, early intervention and our initial collection of service user feedback.”

While the Labour-run authority was not given any areas for action, it was said that a higher quality of assessments of families is needed.