A NORTHERN council slammed Housing Secretary Steve Reed today, accusing him of “arrogance, indifference and moral bankruptcy” in the face of children in social care.

Labour council leader Pamela Hargreaves for Hartlepool said she was “furious and appalled” after meeting with the Cabinet minister last week.

She accused the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary of saying the government would not “reward councils for having high numbers of children in care.”

Following a cross-party delegation request to Mr Reed asking for £3 million to help with the growing cost of social care, Ms Hargreaves said he “dismissed” the entire issue by telling her “that’s life.”

Ms Hargreaves said Hartlepool, which has the third highest number of children in care per capita in England, is being failed by the government in a system she said “punishes deprivation.”

“That comment tells you everything,” she told the Guardian after her meeting with Mr Reed. “Shrugging at abused and exploited children is not policy, it is moral bankruptcy.

“Calling proper funding for children in care a ‘reward’ is obscene and offensive. Protecting vulnerable children is a basic moral and legal duty of the state.

“Our children and our families deserve far better than arrogance, indifference and a shrug of ‘that’s life’.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government hit back at Ms Hargreaves, claiming she had “shockingly misrepresenting” the meeting.

A spokesperson defended his statements, claiming Mr Reed was referring to his time as leader of the London council of Lambeth when he said “that’s life” about having to deal with pressures in the budget of his local authority.

“He absolutely did not say ‘that’s life’ in response to being asked about funding for children in social care as is suggested, and never would,” they added.

A source within the MHCLG told the newspaper that Hartlepool has received one of the largest funding increases in England and accused councillors of seeking “special treatment that no other council gets despite many local authorities dealing with equivalent pressures.”

The source added that if the council leader was not able to “manage her budget,” it was “not the government’s fault.”

It follows a recent announcement from the department that it is “realigning” spending on councils for more deprived areas to receive a fairer share of funding, but councils have warned they needed significantly more to avoid going bankrupt.