Manchester City Council's beleaguered children's services department is set to bear the brunt of the authority's £59m budget cuts programme, consultation documents have revealed.

A consultation issued on the authority's website indicates plans to slash £54.1m from Manchester's children's services department budget, which currently stands at £294.4million – more than half the city council's £560m total spend for the current financial year.

Planned cuts would reduce the directorate's workforce by the equivalent of 357 full time posts.