An inspection of Torbay Council, which took place between 12 October and 5 November, found that although there was a clear political commitment to provide high-quality children’s services, accompanied by sustained financial investment, there are a number of issues that must be addressed.
"Important weaknesses remain in social work practice across the service," the report states.
"While no children were found to be at immediate risk, children in Torbay do not receive timely responses to their needs and thresholds for access to services are not well understood or applied.
"Children and families experience delay in gaining access to help and protection at referral, assessment and planning stages."
There was also criticism of the authority's early help offer and its services for families experiencing domestic abuse.
It is the second time in the space of five years that services in Torbay have been found to be inadequate.
In October 2010 the local authority was judged "inadequate" for safeguarding services. In April 2013 the authority was judged "adequate" for child protection.
Last month Prime Minister David Cameron said children’s services judged “inadequate” must improve within six months or face being taken over.
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