Oxfordshire’s 44 Children’s Centres provide a wide range of services to children and families. They are highly valued by all those who access them as places offering support and advice on the challenges of bringing up children from infancy to adulthood. 

The Tory administration’s proposals to reduce the number of Centres from 44 to 7 or 8 “hubs” will remove entirely the universal provision currently provided. In spite of the administration’s assertion that “there has been cross party agreement” on the issue, Liberal Democrats opposed the last OCC Tory budget on the grounds that the savings planned (particularly the proposed £6m of savings from the Children’s Centre Budget of £16m) was highly damaging to the social provision of the County Council and unacceptable. Nothing has changed in the last year except the threat from Central Government of yet more savings in the coming year. Liberal Democrats accept the need for savings, but believe that they could be found by some amalgamation and sharing of management, whilst keeping the pressure on Central Government to understand that there is no further room for major cuts in OCC Social care provision without cutting proven frontline valued services. Liberal Democrats also believe that such wholesale cutting is storing up untold social and financial costs for the future.  

As well as cutting most of the Centres themselves, the Tories propose to cut staff at the Children’s Centres by more than 50%. The redundancy costs involved will mean that very few savings will be delivered in early years. Furthermore, “Sure Start” money (given to Councils years ago to set up Children’s Centres may well have to be repaid. This again will limit any savings which the Tory proposals might generate.

The Tories propose to focus the little money left on “the most vulnerable” communities. A very large number of other families, currently accessing and benefiting from the Children’s Centres will get no service at all. There is every likelihood that some of those will quickly move into “the most vulnerable” category increasing future cost provision.

The Tory proposals are shortsighted, desperate  and will not work – even in financial terms.

In order to make all possible savings, Liberal Democrats are arguing that the Council’s effort and energy would be much better spent researching, consulting and persuading the District Councils, the Parish Councils, Schools and the Children’s centres themselves to find ways of running the Centres leaving the County Council to provide the Social care expertise. This would generate more immediate and long lasting savings.