The harrowing results of an FOI request have been revealed by our sister site the West Lothian Courier, disclosing that there were almost 9000 referrals of concern to social work about children and young people in the county over the last three years.
In the year up to March 5 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were 2946 referrals to the Children and Families Social Work intake team in West Lothian.
The figures show that this was a drop on the previous year up to March 2020 when there were 3672, but in the year before that, up to March 2019 the number was even lower, with 2123 referrals, the Daily Record reports.
However, the FOI showed that not all of these referrals about child protection in West Lothian required further action.
The figures revealed that in the last year, up to March 5 2021, 1944 required further intervention.
In the year up to March 5 2020, 2813 of referrals needed actioned upon, and in 2019, 1758 were taken further.
Over the three years the main reasons for these referrals were suspected neglect or abuse and child at risk and welfare concerns.
A West Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership spokesperson said: “We are committed to making every effort to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.
“Our dedicated teams will continue to work in partnership with other agencies to deliver the best possible outcomes for every child and young person in West Lothian who needs our support.”
If you have concerns about a child or young person in West Lothian or are in need of support from Children and Family service please visit the council's dedicated website here.
