A passionate public meeting about Children’s Centres in Somerset was told today that key frontline staffing will increase and a proposed restructure would see less management and admin bills and £1m more invested in frontline help.
In a robust defence of plans to change the way Children’s Centres are run, Conservative Cabinet member Cllr Frances Nicholson told members of the public at the Council’s Scrutiny committee that all 41 Children’s Centre buildings will remain in use for children’s services, but she refused to invest further money in buildings at the expense of frontline services.
£5.6m is currently spent on Children’s Centres. More than half of that spend is on management, administration and buildings.
The meeting heard from a variety of parents and local councillors asking for more detail about the proposals and requesting a delay in making any decision.
“It is very clear people feel very passionate about the children’s services we deliver. I feel passionate about them too,” she said. “These proposals are about investing at least £1m more directly on frontline services. 23 Centres keep their same status and name. For the other 18, family support services will continue in the same communities and in many cases in the same buildings. They just may not be called a Children’s Centre. If services are moved out of the centre building, they will still take place in that local area, be it a village hall or school building.”
Their plea was heard by Cllr Nicholson who announced at the meeting that she would postpone making any decision for at least a week to allow further representations to be made.
She said: “I want to make sure I’ve considered every point of view and left no stone unturned before I make my final decision on a service that means so much to so many.”