The details of 3 Children’s Centres that are to be downgraded by Lib Dem controlled Stockport Council in an attempt to cut over £1million have been revealed in a complex cuts report prepared by the Council.
The centres that will be downgraded from ‘hub’ to ‘satellite’ status are:
- Reddish Vale Children’s Centre in Reddish South ward, which also serves the Marbury Estate in Heatons North ward.
- Ladybridge Park Children’s Centre based at Ladybridge Primary School, in Cheadle Hulme North ward which serves the Councillor Lane estate and Lark Hill estate.
- Bredbury Green & Goyt Valley Children’s Centre based at the Overdale Centre in Romiley, in the Bredbury Green and Romiley ward.
Cllr Andrew Verdeille, Leader of Stockport Labour Group, said:
“Fully-functioning Children’s Centres have made a huge amount of difference to thousands of lives across Stockport since the last Labour Government introduced them. I know myself the fantastic work that is done at the Reddish Vale Centre which serves some of the most deprived areas of the Borough.
“Centres which have already been downgraded by the Lib Dems have seen budgets reduced, charges introduced for services and projects being offered on a first-come first-served basis rather than being available for all. The parents that will be affected by these downgrades need to know whether they will be able to access services at other centres or if they will have less rights because of this decision.
Cllr Verdeille also commented on the shoddy way the details of which centres are to be downgraded has been presented:
“Local councillors have been inundated with emails and phone calls from parents worried about whether their Children’s Centre is earmarked by the Lib Dems to be downgraded. The information revealing which centres are set to be downgraded was buried in an appendix to a complex cuts report that has been put together for each of the Lib Dems’ cuts. It is an appalling way to treat people and if it wasn’t for the Labour Group going through every page of these documents who knows when residents would have been told about this decision.”
Other changes to the Children’s Centres service will see the number of Children’s Centre Teachers drop from 5 to 1 and changes to reception opening times which have already been rubber stamped by the Lib Dem Council.
The new proposal to downgrade 3 Children’s Centres to ‘satellite’ centres was approved by the Lib Dem Executive on Monday 18th February and will be presented as part of the Lib Dems’ Budget at the Full Council Meeting on Tuesday 5th March.
Previously, the Lib Dem Council has reduced the former 19 Children’s Centres across the Borough to 12 ‘hub’ centres and 7 ‘satellite’ centres.