A SENIOR councillor has called on the Government to take urgent action to help hard-pressed local authorities cope with an unprecedented increase in demand for children's services.
Councillor Alan Clark, Chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Children’s Services Committee, has written to Robert Goodwill MP, the Minister of State for Children at the Department of Education, ahead of the Budget on November 22.
He says the Council has done all it can to prioritise the welfare of vulnerable children and young people in the face of swingeing funding cuts, but the position is now “untenable”.
In his letter, Councillor Clark reveals that the number of vulnerable young people referred to the town’s multi-agency Children’s Hub has increased by around 40 per cent in the last 12 months alone, leaving it facing a £2.1m budget deficit.
“The Government must find a more sustainable funding model for the future that enables local authorities to properly tackle and fund the challenges we face," he said.
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