MP campaigns for children's social care overhaul

A LOCAL MP is campaigning for the 'overhaul' of children's social care in the region.

- By DANIEL HODGSON

Luke Myer, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, has written to council leaders and children's services leads across the Tees Valley urging them to explore the creation of a Tees Valley Care Cooperative.

The proposal, inspired by Mr Myer's previous experience as cabinet member for children on Redcar & Cleveland Council, seeks to pool resources across local authorities to commission children's social care services collectively.

This would, he argues, strengthen quality control, create a more stable local market, and deliver better value for money.

It is understood that a meeting took place between the five leaders of the Tees Valley councils (all Labour) last week, with agreement on forming a time-limited task force.

When the Middlesbrough Mayor was approached for comment, he said that there is a history of collaboration in this area. Mr Myer, whose constituency is based across two local authorities (Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland), has argued that with local government mergers likely to come in future, councils in the Tees Valley should take the initiative and design a model themselves rather than have one imposed from Westminster.