THE ruling Labour group on a Cleveland council has "betrayed the people's trust" over social services. That was the angry claim of opposition councillors after a report on service quality.

However, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's chief executive pledged that an action plan would deliver "vigorous and substantial improvements".

Colin Moore said the authority welcomed the joint report from the Audit Commission and Social Services Inspectorate.

But he accepted that a number of areas needed to be addressed.

The report, presented to councillors on Tuesday, highlighted the following problems:

l Services for disabled children in need of urgent improvement,

l No clear plan to move forward services for people with learning disabilities,

l Services for older people adrift, with in-house services expensive and inefficient,

l Senior management problems in communicating with staff.

On the positive side, the report praised dedicated staff and a well-regarded service for young people leaving care.

Inspectors said social services served some people well, but that prospects for improvement were uncertain.

In the face of severe financial constraints, it said, the council needs to establish clear priorities to maximise resources.

The council's Conservative group leader Vera Moody said: "Labour has failed to make difficult decisions which would improve quality of life for so many people. They have produced a service in crisis. They have betrayed the people's trust."