GOVERNMENT ministers have intervened in a storm over the “high level” of unanswered calls at a Liverpool Council child helpline.

Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said she was “alarmed” by the situation at Careline and has asked the Government Office for the North West (GONW) to look into the matter.

Care services minister Phil Pope has also intervened and written to council chief executive Colin Hilton asking him to investigate as a matter of urgency.

In March, a Freedom of Information request revealed on average each month up to 2,500 calls about adults and 1,000 about children were going unanswered.

It equated to about 25% of calls about children being abandoned, although the council says up to 90% are now answered.

In a letter to Wavertree MP Jane Kennedy, Ms Hughes stated: “I am alarmed by the apparent high level of abandoned calls revealed after a Freedom of Information request.

“I am worried that callers wishing to report their concerns about the safety or welfare of a child may be unable to do so.

“I have asked immediately that officials from the GONW urgently seek an explanation from Liverpool City Council and provide me the assurance that anyone with concerns about the safety of a child is able, easily, to report their concerns to the local authority’s social care, and that calls will be answered in a timely way.”