CHILDREN'S services in Neath and Port Talbot need urgent attention, according to a new report going before the cabinet today.

The report, made by the Welsh Audit Office as part of its annual letter to the council, said it was facing significant challenges with the department's budget and arrangements to safeguard children.

Concerns are raised over workload, experience of staff, and the quality of child protection conferences.

The council says that an increase in the number of children needing support is behind the poor performance, but says moves are in place to turn things around.

The report said that Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales had recently published a review on child services for each of the councils across Wales.

It said: "It is clear that while the council's arrangements for safeguarding children have strengths, they are not among the best in Wales, and require some urgent attention.

"While its overall arrangements to safeguard children are satisfactory, the system lacks resilience due to workforce pressures, a lack of in-depth child protection experience in the conference and review service, the inconsistent quality of initial child protection conferences and problems with internal case transfer procedures from the referral and assessment teams."

Some objectives are, in part, being achieved by Neath Port Talbot's Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).

However, the report noted the improvements focused too heavily on social services, and the board should concentrate on more effective plans to improve performance around safeguarding children in the police, health and education services.

Julie Rzezniczek, Neath pot Talbot Council head of children and young people services, said: "The report comments on emerging pressures, for example there has been a recent rise in numbers of looked after children.

"The local authority has taken strategies to address these pressures, including investment in staff and a review of the systems and processes of the work that social workers undertake.

"The reference to a lack of in-depth child protection experience relates to a small section of our service responsible for reviewing children's care and child protection plans. While this team has considerable experience in child protection, a review of their training needs is underway."

Neath Port Talbot Council's cabinet will meet today at Port Talbot Civic Centre.