A WAR of words has broken out between Trafford's Tory and Labour groups over the funding of mental health services for children.

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is provided by Pennine Care NHS Trust for Trafford and a number of other areas - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

It provides care for children with a wide range of issues including eating disorders, depression, autism, suicidal feelings and learning disabilities.

The Labour group hit out after cash-strapped Trafford - which needs to save £22.5m this year - cut its contribution to the services from £252,000 to £126,000.

Labour's Cllr Jane Baugh said: "This austerity cut will be damaging to our young people and their carers.

"These children deserve the very best care we can give them, we are responsible for that care, every one of us.

"The Tories will be held to account for the consequences of these cruel and bitter cuts."

But the leader of Conservative-controlled Trafford Council, Cllr Sean Anstee, hit back - claiming services would not be affected.

He pointed out that Trafford recently received the joint highest inspection rating for children’s services in the country, 'out-performing every single Labour council'.

He said of the funding for CAMHS: "The council is reducing its contribution by 50 per cent which represents less than five per cent of the overall spend, and so yet again the Labour Party is seeking to portray a story that the service is being halved, when it quite evidently is not.

“The reduction of £126,000 from the council’s contribution will be met through efficiencies and service users should see no immediate impact."

Carol Baker-Longshaw, joint service director, said: “We have been working hard to ensure that our service users and staff are not disadvantaged by the reduction in CAMHS funding.

“We have looked in depth at the way we currently deliver services and have identified areas for improvement, which will ensure we can continue to deliver high quality and safe care that continues to meet our service users’ needs.

“There will be no reduction in staff as a result of the decreased funding and there will be no change to the clients we work with."