Councillor Tamoor Tariq is set to become the new Deputy Leader of Bury Council, following a vote held by the ruling Labour Group.

He will be taking over from the current Deputy Leader Cllr Andrea Simpson, who will step down at the council's annual meeting next Wednesday May 20.

Cllr Simpson will take on the role of First Deputy, currently occupied by Cllr Tariq and she will continue in her role as Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing.

Cllr Tariq has represented the residents of Redvales since 2010, serving on the Council's cabinet for the last four years, most recently as Cabinet Member for Children Services. His new portfolio will be Children Services, Young People and Skills.

He said: "I am grateful to colleagues who have put their faith and trust in me to be the next Deputy Leader of the Council for the town in which I was born and bred.

"Bury made my family feel welcome and allowed them to make this their home when my grandparents migrated here in the 1970s, I feel I am now able to give something back by serving in the council's leadership team.

"We are in unprecedented times, living through the biggest public health crisis we have ever seen. Things have changed, in some cases beyond recognition, we must evaluate what this means for council's services and our borough and ensure that we lead the covid-19 recovery to rebuild our town and ensure we are prepared to meet the challenges ahead.

"I plan to work closely with the new Leader of the Council, Cllr Eamonn O'Brien, council staff and the whole Cabinet Team to ensure Bury is the best place it can be for all our residents and stakeholders."

He also paid tribute to the outgoing leader Cllr Jones and the Cllr Simpson and thanked them for their service.

Outgoing Deputy Leader Cllr Simpson said: "It has been an honour and privilege to serve as Deputy Leader for the last three years, given my working commitments I felt now was a good time to step down from the role.

"I am delighted Cllr O'Brien and Cllr Tariq will be becoming our Leader and Deputy respectively, and they will have my full support to meet the challenges ahead."

Incoming leader of Bury Council Cllr O'Brien said: "Cllr Tariq is one of our most passionate and committed elected members and I am incredibly please that he will be working alongside me to take on the challenges our borough will face.

"In particular, he will continue his hard work improving the performance of our local schools, ensuring our SEN provision is of a high standard and bring a fresh look at our ambitious skills agenda."