Stoke-on-Trent City Council is considering cutting 248 jobs to help fund a £5.5m cash boost for children's services.

The proposals, which follow an inadequate rating from Ofsted earlier this year, have been designed to help the council meet the ‘unprecedented' demand for children's social care services.

Stoke-on-Trent is also considering controls on all non-essential spending, the transformation of services, identifying new revenue streams and reviewing contracts.

Council leader Abi Brown, said: ‘The recent Ofsted inspection highlighted the urgent need to make children's services and protecting our vulnerable young people our number one priority. 

‘As a cabinet, we are committed to ensuring that improvement and investment in children's services go hand in hand, and these mid-year proposals will allow us to redirect necessary funding so that we can make this happen.'

In March, Ofsted warned children in the city faced ‘serious and widespread' delays in having their needs met and vulnerable children were not being safeguarded.