People looking after children in care should be subject to stricter and more independent controls, says a leading charity.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children says it received 200 allegations of physical and sexual abuse from children in England and Wales last year who were either living in local authority care or with foster parents.

The charity is recommending a five-point action plan to complement the proposed Care Standards Bill, which starts its committee stage in parliament on Monday, saying that children in care deserve "five star protection".

Bill's remit 'limited'

It says the bill's remit is "limited", and that important components, such as regional children's right's officers appear to have been dropped.

As a result of abuse allegations, 82 investigations - almost half of which involved recent cases - were carried out.

Most investigations were requested by local authorities, and involved allegations against 138 individuals.

As a result, more than 50 care workers and others in positions of trust are now facing cruelty and sex offence charges.

One case involved a nine-year-old girl who told investigators that she had been sexually abused by her foster carer over a three-year period.

Other recent investigations have followed allegations that children as young as five had been kicked, slapped and thrown against walls. Children also alleged being made to perform sexual acts.

The NSPCC then discovered that the man had cared for 15 other children, two of whom had also alleged sexual abuse. He was convicted of the crimes and is now serving a six-year sentence.

Its recommended measures include the setting up of an independent care watchdog with statutory powers, and to provide "safe adult friends" to be trained as independent visitors for all children in care.

NSPCC officers also want to see the early implementation of the Criminal Records Bureau, a planned one-stop-shop for employers who wish to police check prospective workers.

Trusted adults

The charity's Child Protection Director, Neil Hunt, said: "Child abuse in the care system is not a thing of the past. However, we know that local authorities are determined to keep the children in their care safe.

"More and more are asking the NSPCC to help investigate allegations of abuse if they arise."

He said that the number of children involved in these investigations represents a small minority of the 55,000 children in care.

But he stressed the organisation believes that "one child abused in the care system is one too many".

"All children in care can be lonely and isolated, particularly if they are regularly moved from placement to placement," he said.

"They should all have access to a sage adult friend trained as an independent visitor, which would add badly-needed consistency to children's disrupted lives."