Services at Stoke City Council were rated "inadequate" in February by Ofsted, with the inspectorate warning that vulnerable children are not being safeguarded.
A report by DfE-appointed commissioner for children's services at the local authority Eleanor Brazil, who was asked to identify how improvements could be made, concludes that the council does not have the capacity to make the necessary improvements on its own.
Stoke Council has been told by the DfE that by 31 January 2020 it must have an agreed formal partnership arrangement with a strong local authority to deliver all of its children's social care services functions.
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