Closing Children’s Centres the Sefton way
Local Children’s Centres may stop the Council bringing in Green Bin charges. Closing down up to seven out of ten children’s centres is Sefton Council’s latest idea to save money. And, just like the Council’s Library closure plans a few years ago, Bootle emerges better from Labour’s plans than do Formby and Southport.
Currently, there are ten Children’s Centres in the Borough of Sefton, who provide much needed support for children and their parents. The Sefton Plan just announced is to cut this down to three, So, Formby and Southport, which presently have three children’s centres,will only be left with one. Bootle will end up with two and Maghull and Aintree will lose out completely. The Council reckon they will save £900,000 on this proposal. Which is exactly what they said they planned to save in 2012, the last time Labour councillors proposed this cut: http://modgov.sefton.gov.uk/documents/s35909/Appendix%201.pdf
Councillor John Joseph Kelly, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Safeguarding, is aware that the Council has a legal duty to ensure the sufficient provision of Children’s Centres to meet the support needs of all local parents and carers, prospective parents and children from 0-19. But no one really knows what ‘sufficient means so the Council can probably get away with cutting seven out of ten local facilities.
Councillor Kelly says that local communities have told the council “of the need to co-locate”. ’Co-location’ is apparently the phrase of the month on Corrie.
Confusion reigns over the closure plans since the Council directory tells residents they only have ten children’s centres.
https://www.seftondirectory.com/kb5/sefton/directory/newfamily.page?newfamilychannel=2
Whereas another Sefton web site says they have fourteen.
https://www.sefton.gov.uk/schools-learning/early-years-and-childcare/find-a-childrens-centre.aspx
Actually, there are presently ten ‘children’s centres and four ‘family centres’ – but perhaps not for long? Whichever the number, there will only be three definitely left if the Labour councillors’ plans are allowed to go through. At least only three they will tell you about. because the ‘consultation’ documents on the Sefton web site does not say anything at all about what will happen to all the other ones or where the £900,000 saving will come from:
Parents who feel like protesting about the changes are warned that if the chop doesn’t come here then the Labour councillors who control the Borough may dust down their previous cash-saving plans to charge all residents for Green Bin collections. This has just been brought in next door in West Lancashire where residents now have to pay £30 per year for every green bin emptied. Skelmersdale Labour Councillor Liz Savage, who was last year’s Mayor of West Lancashire, has been very active in politics in part of the Borough of Sefton and it is widely-thought that the Sefton Cabinet may be amenable to cash-saving ideas which come from across the moss.
Labour were going to bring in the Green Bin charges a couple of years ago but a shock by-election victory for Lib Dem Bruce Hubbard (below) in Maghull was quickly followed by a shelving of the plans. The Lib Dem campaign against the Green Bin charges was seen as being pivotal in Councillor Hubbard’s victory.
Labour’s recent recruits Norwood Ward Councillors Bill and Marianne Welsh were previously among the loudest critics of Sefton Council’s proposed green bin charges. So, it will be interesting to see which way they ‘jump’ if Labour tries to bring their Green Bin charging idea back in.
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