Concerns raised about planned changes to children's centres

A CHELMSLEY Wood councillor has warned that plans for a shake-up of Solihull’s children’s centres could lead to a “much reduced” service across the borough.
Solihull Council is considering closing all 14 of its dedicated centres, after news that its budget to run the programme would be slashed by more than £600,000 from next year.
The local authority has argued that the cost of keeping the buildings open is substantial and has suggested the service could instead be run from community venues, such as libraries.
A less drastic option would stop short of a blanket closure and keep the dedicated centres in areas with high deprivation, such as Chelmsley Wood, Smith’s Wood and Kingshurst.
This week Councillor Chris Williams (Green) said that the cuts in Government funding were partly to blame, but feared that the council’s money-saving solution could hit families hard.
“The council may like us to believe the cuts are in the best interest of our children but no one is that easily convinced,” he said.
“What may result is that children's centres are closed down and the services are moved to part time services in community centres or similar venues where the specialist set ups we have now are not available. And of course, it may well mean fewer children's centre staff.
“There is a real danger we are sleepwalking into a situation where we have more parents with less support and more children without the best possible start in life. It will be the least well off most affected.”
Solihull Council has made the case that the centres, most of which are attached to schools, cost a minimum of £300,000 each year to staff and maintain.
Given that they’re empty a large proportion of the time, they argue that it made sense to sell off or lease these premises and make the move to community venues.
A council report said: “By reducing building related costs the council would be able to retain more of the budget for services and reach out to families that need additional help.
“From the perspective of parents the change should be limited.”
You can take part in a survey on the proposed changes at www.solihull.gov.uk/childrenscentres

• There will also be workshops at Kingshurst Children's Centre (June 20, 9am-12noon), Castle Bromwich Children's Centre (June 25, 1-3pm), Chelmsley Wood Children's Centre (June 27, 1-3pm) and Smith's Wood Children's Centre (July 4, 1-3pm).