Social workers will spend less time on paperwork under a new plan to improve the lives of vulnerable families in Hertfordshire.

Hertfordshire County Council has been awarded £4.86 million to put towards children's social care - the highest in the country from the government's children's social care innovative programme.

The money will fund a new project aiming to keep more of the highest-risk children and families in the county together safely.

It also sets out to improve the children's health and education, as well as reducing physical and emotional harm in families.

Richard Roberts, cabinet member for children's services, said: "Our pioneering new approach will cut down on red tape and free up our social workers to spend more time with families.

"We will also be working closely with our partners to ensure vulnerable families will get all the help the need, when they need it."

The county council believes the new project is necessary to address concerns about the specialisation of adult and children care services.

It says some families have not been as well supported as they should be, leading to more children going into care.

Another factor was the findings of the Government commissioned Munro Review of Child Protection.

The review found social workers spend an estimated 80 per cent of their time on administrative functions, leaving little time to work directly with families.

The grant will enable the council to extend the work of the safeguarding teams across the county.

They will be joined by community psychiatric nurses and domestic abuse specialists trained to support families in new ways.

The safeguarding teams will also work alongside schools, children's centres, health visitors, police officers and the voluntary sector to ensure children live in a caring home where they can thrive and prosper.

To reduce time spent on administration, staff will use an electronic workbook to record assessments.

The council hopes this will eventually replace the current system of case notes, chronologies and reports, which are often repetitive and time-consuming.

Mr Roberts added: "This grant is the result of the hard work of staff and crucially, our partners in health and the police and reflects the government’s faith in our innovative plan to improve the health, education and wellbeing of more than 1,000 of our highest risk children and families.

"I am delighted that we have received this money to help us press ahead with our plans, which will give hundreds of children a better start in life. We hope it will become a model for other areas of the country to follow."