Two members of staff, who say they are very proud to work for the local authority, have voiced grave concerns regarding the system and the early years welfare service Start Well in particular.

They say because of increasingly stretched resources, people have either gone off sick or resigned due to the amount of pressure and this could compromise services.

One member of staff, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “They are all off from work pressure which is causing stress and anxiety.

"Teams are now working with the bare minimum of staff and we are being asked to operate in an unsafe manner. Something will get missed and children’s safety will be put at risk.

"We are required to see children within five days of allocation and it is not meaningful. We haven’t got enough time to spend with these families.

"The quality of care has massively been diminished. I believe the council struggled to get staff to stay, so temporary staff were brought in who don’t know the processes.”

Their colleague, who also wishes to remain anonymous added: "There have been ongoing issues for a while. They have recently recruited new staff but it is whether they can keep them.”

Whistleblowers have told Wigan Today that children's services staff are suffering from stress, overwork and low morale

While director of children’s services Colette Dutton accepts there are strained resources, she said this is common across the country.

Ms Dutton said: “It is an accurate picture nationally of what’s being...

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