Tameside child services: MP calls for government to intervene

An Ofsted inspection found there was a "systemic delay" in dealing with cases

An MP has called for Tameside's child services to be taken out of council control after a report found it continued to put children at risk.

Andrew Gwynne has called for the government to intervene after Ofsted inspectors found children's services at the authority had deteriorated.

Mr Gwynne said the service was "letting children and families down" and should be run by an independent trust.

Tameside Council said it had recognised the "continued need to improve".

Mr Gwynne, a cross-borough Labour MP for Denton and Reddish, said the failing service should not be allowed "to limp on with considerable issues for another year".

He added: "How can it be acceptable that a child and family in the Stockport part of my constituency will get a much better quality of service to children and families in the Tameside part?"

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he would ask Children's Social Care Minister Will Quince "to take all steps necessary" to improve the service.

Andrew Gwynne said the service should not be allowed 'to limp on with considerable issues'

The department, which was rated as "inadequate" in 2016 and "requires improvement" since 2019, had been visited by Ofsted in May 2021.

It was then agreed by the executive cabinet to invest an extra £461,000 this year, and a further £504,000 in 2023.

However, during the latest visit in April, inspectors found help for some children at immediate risk of harm had "deteriorated" and a "systemic delay" in dealing with cases meant children were being left in "circumstances of unassessed risk for too long".

In a statement, Tameside Council said the council had recognised "the continued need to improve at pace" and said it was working with the Department for Education to create an improvement plan.

"We are unwaveringly committing to ensuring our children and young people are safe from harm and supported in a way that best meets their needs in a timely and efficient way," the spokesman added.

The council must outline how it intends to improve within 70 working days.

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