The A57 Link Road scheme will shortly be starting full construction and works are expected to be complete in 2028.

The schemes in question are in different stages as follows:

Four schemes have been completed and are open to traffic.

The following three schemes are in construction and expected completion dates as follows:

As the Chancellor informed Parliament on 29 July, an internal review of the Department’s capital spend portfolio has been commissioned. The primary aim of the review is to provide strategic advice to the Secretary of State, which may in turn inform decisions on specific projects as part of the multiyear Spending Review. Schemes below are subject to this review and therefore we cannot give any assurances around delivery of these schemes until the Spending Review concludes.

Finally, the A5036 Princess Way scheme was cancelled in the Autumn Budget 2024.

The exercise referenced did not conclude as the Council re-directed the resource to concentrate on improvements. As a result, a formal report was not provided. However, the department has discussed the findings with the Council and are assured that the areas identified are embedded within the Council-owned Improvement Plan.

The department is not responsible for the overall financial health of local authorities. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities provide authorities with an overall funding agreement which local authorities are then responsible for dispersing within their services, of which children’s services is a part of. It is therefore for the local authority to decide how funding is allocated to improve its children’s services.

The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion, or 9.4% in cash terms, in 2022/23. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced, in recognition of local authorities being best place to understand local priorities.

A breakdown of the key element of annual funding for each local authority in England, including Tameside Council, since 2016/17, as announced at that year’s settlement, are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-information-for-local-authorities-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2023-to-2024.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The adequacy of a local authorities children’s social care is officially assessed by Ofsted’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) framework. Children’s social care services in Tameside were judged as Requires Improvement in the 2019 ILACS inspection, which was an improvement from the inspection in 2016 where services were found to be Inadequate. Focused Visits were carried out by Ofsted in May 2021 and April 2022 to monitor services, as per Ofsted’s inspection framework. The Focused Visit in April 2022 identified two Areas of Priority Action (APAs).

Following this, in line with the department’s early intervention policy, the department placed Tameside into intervention and issued an Improvement Notice. The department has continued to work closely with Tameside, carrying out formal 6 monthly reviews and tailoring effective support to target the APAs. An Improvement Adviser is in place to provide ongoing support and challenge to the service including early support to the Council in establishing an Improvement Board to provide the mechanism for corporate and political leadership to scrutinise and challenge the improvement journey.

In addition, the department has provided Tameside with targeted improvement funding and brokered support from Sector Led Improvement Partners as well as co-ordinating the Local Government Association to provide a package of leadership support for the senior leadership team and wider Council, including politicians.

The priority for the department’s intervention has been to oversee progress of the two APAs identified in Ofsted’s 2022 Focused Visit. Progress of improvement has relied on stability of senior leadership and capacity within the Council. The imminent Ofsted ILACS inspection will result in a graded judgement for Tameside’s children’s services and will clearly set out what is working well and where further improvements can be made, including what further steps are needed to achieve Good or Outstanding, if appropriate. The inspection will also determine the effectiveness of the Council’s response to the department’s intervention and support.

The department continues to monitor progress and provide support via the intervention policy and regular interactions with the Council. Should assessments indicate the Council is making insufficient progress, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may choose to invoke her statutory powers of intervention (under s497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a Statutory Direction.

The department was pleased to announce the borough of Tameside, including Denton, as a Priority Education Investment Area (EIA) as part of the recent Schools White Paper.

The Schools White Paper sets out our vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential founded on achieving word-class standards of literacy and numeracy and confirmed our headline ambitions, including at key stage 4, to increase the GCSE average grade in English language and maths from 4.5 to 5.

In Priority EIAs, the department will offer intensive investment in addition to the significant support available to all EIAs, so that we can drive improvement further and faster. This has the potential to transform pupils’ outcomes at both primary and secondary school, by overcoming entrenched barriers to improvement and strengthening the school’s system in these areas.

In all 55 EIAs, the department will be taking steps to support underperforming schools to make the necessary improvements, build trust capacity, support improved digital connectivity in the schools that need this most and offer the Levelling Up premium, worth up to £3,000 tax free, to eligible teachers. Our additional support to Priority EIAs includes a share of around £40 million worth of funding to address local needs, such as those acting as a barrier to improvement at primary and priority access to a number of the department’s other programmes.

My noble Friend, the Minister for School System, has written to all Members of Parliament with Priority EIAs in their constituencies to update them on our next steps for the programme.

In the Schools White Paper, the department has set out a list of the 24 areas where more intensive investment will take place. Tameside is one of these priority areas.

Officials will be meeting with local stakeholders to discuss the local needs for the young people of Tameside.

Both the submitted Places for Everyone Plan and an emerging Tameside Local Plan are development plan documents. If both Places for Everyone and the Tameside Local Plan are found sound and adopted they will together form the development plan for the Tameside area.

Plans gain weight in decision making as they progress through the plan making process.

Places for Everyone has been submitted for examination, but until a plan is found sound and has been adopted it has limited weight in decision making. The Tameside Local Plan is still at an early stage of preparation and there has been no consultation on a draft plan as yet.

Places for Everyone is a joint development plan document which sets out strategic policies for 9 of the 10 Greater Manchester Councils, including Tameside. Delivery of an up to date development plan is key to ensuring the infrastructure and development is in place to contribute towards our goal to Level Up Britain, to boost economic growth, and to progress opportunities for regeneration.

Each of the 9 Councils agreed the pre submission version of Places for Everyone before consultation took place in 2021. The plan was then submitted for examination by a panel of independent Inspectors in February 2022. The strategic policies and allocations proposed in Places for Everyone will be examined for their soundness as part of the examination process, including those in Tameside. If the Plan is found sound the 9 Councils will then decide whether to adopt the plan.

Places for Everyone is a strategic plan and it does not include more detailed area specific policies and allocations, these will be included in each borough’s local plan, such as the emerging Tameside Local Plan, which is at an early stage of preparation with consultation expected later this year.

The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that in preparing a plan the authority needs to have regard to other local development plan documents. Whilst Tameside Council have indicated they will prepare their plan in conformity with Places for Everyone, legislation does not preclude the local plan from deviating from other local development plan documents, such as Places for Everyone, if there is sound evidence for doing so.

A full inspection of Tameside’s local authority children’s services was last completed in May 2019. The report was published on 1 July 2019 with a rating ‘requires improvement to be good’.

For local authorities judged ‘requires improvement’, like Tameside, up to two focused visits will be completed in between full inspections. Tameside has recently had a focused visit and the report is expected to be published on 6 June 2022.

The safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people remains a priority. The decision to intervene in a local authority is not taken lightly, and it is important to base that decision on robust evidence of failure. The department acts quickly and decisively to intervene in local authorities found to be failing in their delivery of children’s social care and judged inadequate by Ofsted.

In line with the department’s intervention policy set out in ‘Putting Children First’, whenever Ofsted finds children’s social care services to be inadequate, an adviser is provided to diagnose problems and support the council on their improvement journey. The government would expect most of those councils to improve with support and challenge from experts.

A commissioner is usually appointed, when council failure is systemic or has become persistent, to determine whether the council has the capacity and capability to improve children’s social care services in a reasonable timeframe. If not, services will be removed from council control for a period of time and transferred to a different organisation (usually a Trust) in order to secure sustainable improvement.

Tameside Children’s Services are currently rated as ‘requires improvement’. The department’s improvement programme seeks to identify and work collaboratively with local authorities who require targeted support to help them improve the services they provide to vulnerable children. The government has increased the amount of funded sector-led improvement activity that can be delivered from 2021 by expanding our cohort of strong performing local authorities to work as sector-led improvement partners.

‘Putting Children First’ is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/putting-children-first-our-vision-for-childrens-social-care.

Section 14 of the Education Act 1996 places the duty on local authorities to ensure that there are sufficient primary and secondary school places in their area. This is with a view to providing diversity in the provision of schools and increasing opportunities for parental choice. Where a school is an academy and wishes to make changes, including increasing the number of pupils, the academy will follow the department’s published guidance for making significant changes.

Where there is forecast growth in demand and a shortfall of places in an area, the Local Authority will meet this future demand, such as by expanding existing schools.

The Schools White Paper also confirmed our intention to seek proposals for new mainstream free schools in areas with the greatest need for more additional places, prioritising proposals in Priority Education Investment Areas such as Tameside. The department will set out further detail on the application process in due course. Separately, where a local authority thinks there is a demographic need for a new school in its area, it must seek proposals to establish a new free school.

In 2021, 85.1% of pupils were offered their first-choice secondary school in Tameside and 94.5% received offers from one of their top three choices. This compares to the national average where 81.1% of pupils were offered their first choice secondary school and 93.4% received offers from one of their top three choices.