Children’s Centres – Tories “Playing Politics”
Liberal Democrats have expressed their disgust at a press release about the future of Children's Centres issued today on behalf of Warwickshire Conservatives.
The Tory document attacked Liberal Democrat and Labour members of the County Council's Children & Young People Overview & Scrutiny Committee for not voting in support of Option 1 in the consultation document, and thus "letting down" Warwickshire parents.
Cllr John Whitehouse (Kenilworth Abbey), Liberal Democrats spokesperson for Children & Young People, said:-
"The Tories are playing politics with the futures of Warwickshire's children, which is reprehensible behaviour. Councillor Heather Timms, as the cabinet member responsible, should be concentrating her energies on finding a sustainable future for our Children's Centres, not indulging in such antics."
Liberal Democrat councillors Clive Rickhards (Studley) and Jerry Roodhouse (Rugby Eastlands & Hillmorton) were at the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting. Cllr Rickhards said:
"All members of the committee made clear they objected to the closure of any Children's Centre, but opposition members were not prepared to support Option 1 outright given there remained a lot of unanswered questions about the impact of the proposed funding cuts, redundancy implications, governance arrangements and service delivery outcomes."
Cllr Jerry Roodhouse said:
"It's not the job of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee to do the Cabinet's work for them. It is the Conservative administration which has proposed these massive funding cuts to Children's Centre budgets for next financial year, and has set a very tight timetable for consultation and decision making."
Liberal Democrats believe that our Children's Centres are priceless assets, but do not believe that any of the current options on the table have been developed sufficiently to guarantee a sustainable future for the 39 current centres.
It's up to the Conservative Cabinet on the 12th September to decide how it will respond to the consultation, and to set out their plans for the future of Warwickshire's Children's Centres. Once these have been published, Liberal Democrats will decide how to respond, and will act accordingly.
The minutes of the two special meetings of the Children's & Young People Overview & Scrutiny Committee are linked below: