Today I played postie and hand-delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street calling on Theresa May to leave a ‘parting gift’ for children’s services before she vacates her desk. Tameside Children’s Services have been brutally hit by government cuts. Alongside other MPs and councillors representing areas which have faced the deepest cuts to local government funding, I was proud to call for the Prime Minister to announce urgent investment in young people.

Young people from those from disadvantaged backgrounds are paying a particularly heavy price for austerity. I am urging the Prime Minister to address the £8bn funding gap which councils continue to face by 2025, and put her money where her mouth is before she slams the door. The cuts have been unfairly applied to local government for years, with those representing the poorest communities facing cuts twice as deep as those serving the most affluent areas.

We urge the Prime Minister to use her remaining time in office to leave a parting gift of £3.1bn to plug the existing funding gap in children’s services. Week after week this year we have heard stories and reports about the impact of deprivation on the life chances of young people. The Prime Minister has the chance to be remembered for something other than the divisive topic of Brexit but she must act now.