MORE than 750 jobs are to be axed at Birmingham City Council’s failing children’s social services department.

The huge cull will see about 20 per cent of existing posts abolished over the next year.

Leaders of the council’s Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition have agreed to slash £68 million from the Children, Young People and Families budget.

The move is partly in response to Government spending cuts imposed on Birmingham, but also reflects a major reorganisation of children’s social services.

The unit was heavily criticised by Ofsted last year for failing to protect vulnerable children and was placed under Government improvement measures.

Social workers have been accused of failing to prevent the deaths from abuse of at least 20 children in Birmingham over the past decade, most notably Khyra Ishaq, the seven-year-old from Handsworth who was locked in her bedroom and starved by her brutal mother and step-father.

Most of the staff set to lose their jobs are middle managers and back-office administrators.

But the cuts will also result in almost 200 jobs at children’s centres and Integrated Family Support Teams being axed.

A further 58 jobs will disappear from the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities team. The move is part of a radical reorganisation of the way social services operates in Birmingham.

Council social workers will work in small specialist teams with police officers, GPs, schools and health centres to target children in need of help.

The aim is to streamline the assessment procedure and reach children in need more quickly by cutting out unnecessary bureaucracy.