North East Lincolnshire Council leader says new investment will help address issues in children's services department
£4 million pounds from the sale of council land for the Port of Immingham development is being put into children's services
The leader of North East Lincolnshire council says he believes extra investment into children's services can help turn around the troubled department.
Ofsted rated the service as 'inadequate' in 2022.
£4 million pounds from the sale of council land for the Port of Immingham development is being put into children's services.
Council leader Phillip Jackson says they've struggled for funding in the past, but is confident improvements are being made:
"We do need to make sure that we are providing the best that we can for children in the area who are vulnerable.
"We haven't been doing that in the past, we know that from the Ofsted inspection that we had a couple of years ago, but you know we are changing that.
"We are now starting to turn the service around. There have been significant improvements in the particular areas that Ofsted have come back to look at over the last years or so."
"There is still a lot of work to do - we recognise that.
Philip Jackson says the new money will help transform children's services:
"There's a lot of pressure on local authorities up and down the country with their budgets, and we are not immune to that.
"But I think on the whole we have managed the budget quite well and I'm confident that we will be able to move forward with a balanced budget for the forthcoming year."