CLAIMS that York's "early warning system" for vulnerable youngsters is lagging behind the rest of the country have been rejected by council bosses.

The council's Labour group alleged that a new system used to assess the needs of children and young people in York was behind schedule when compared both regionally and nationally.

The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is part of the Government's response to tackle how professionals share information about children.

Communication failure is a common problem highlighted in cases of child abuse and neglect.

Shadow executive member for Children's Services Coun Dave Merrett said: "It is a fundamental part of the Every Child Matters' agenda that the CAF gets working and quickly.

"It is about collecting information and making sure any signs of problems are recorded and discussed and plans of action or support agreed.

"I'm very concerned about the continuing slow rolling out of this initiative - it needs to become part of the culture of working with children and young people and requires some urgency to get it embedded and operating effectively."

But the council's executive member for children's services, Coun Carol Runciman, said there is no need for concern and that the council attaches the highest possible priority to the protection of vulnerable children.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "Our systems and practices have recently been judged by national inspectors to be outstanding.

"The CAF is a tool to assist with the early identification of potential signs of vulnerability and its use has been enthusiastically endorsed by the council and its partners on the YorOK Board (York's Children's Trust).

"The board also agreed to establish action plans to monitor progress in rolling out the new system. These are just getting under way, and they are an entirely local initiative so national comparisons are not possible.

"Since September 2007, more than 140 local practitioners have been trained in the new system.

"The YorOK Board also agreed that additional resources should be invested in this area, and the council has recruited an additional member of staff to assist with the roll-out of the new framework and other associated systems."

Schools, the voluntary sector, the Primary Care Trust (PCT) and the police are just a few examples of agencies which will work on CAF to improve information sharing.