"Family First" service under threat

The Family First service, which helps prevent young people having to go into care, is under threat as Surrey County Council pulls its funding from this project. The service, which is a partnership between the County Council and the children's charity NCH, helps young people who have been excluded from school or who have problems at home.

They also help people in short-term local authority accommodation to return home.

Liberal Democrat County Councillor Hazel Watson said, "This is exactly the sort of project that the County Council should be investing its resources in. If such problems are prevented at source, the County Council can stop the problems becoming a serious drain on its finances at a later date."

She added, "Family First provides an excellent service. Between April 2006 and April 2007 it avoided 118 young people being unnecessarily being sent into care. It should be supported, not starved of funds."