A CASH squeeze on social services could leave the care of vulnerable children under severe pressure in the coming year, as council chiefs wrestle with budget dilemmas.

Director of social services in North Yorkshire, Rosemary Archer, said the number of children looked after by the county council has risen sharply since 1999 - although the authority still spends almost £50 per head of population less than similar authorities.

The department is responsible for 400 children in foster homes and other forms of residential care, as well as 254 on the Child Protection Register.

The county's social services have been overspending for the past three years, with the budget also having to support a larger number of elderly people, including 3,000 who want to continue living in their own homes and 2,200 who are given day care places.

Mrs Archer said the council was spending more than its budget mainly to meet the increased demand for work with children.

"Virtually all of the projected £1m overspend on children's services in this financial year is due to the increased demand," she said.

"The number of children who are looked after by the authority has now risen to about 400, compared to 327 in March 1999 and 378 in March 2001 - a 22 per cent rise since March 1999. The need to meet this growing demand means that no new services can be developed. It also compounds another difficulty, namely the lack of local placement choice for children who are looked after by the county council."

Next year's budget, a decision on which is expected in February, is also being stretched by an ageing population and hospital bed-blocking by people needing resid-ential and nursing home care.

Mrs Archer said: "We will try to minimise the distress both for the older people in need of care and their relatives, but we cannot promise unlimited services for all those in need."

But she insisted that the county's most vulnerable people would be the top priorities for services.

"We will continue to target spending on areas where the need is most acute, as well as developing preventative services.

"In this way we will ensure that people with the highest level of need are cared for, and reduce the pressure on services in the future," she said.