Shropshire Council children's services consultation opens
Residents can now have their say on plans to remove children's services in the county.
Shropshire Council's cabinet passed plans to remove 20 children's centres across the county last month - saving £875,000.
And now a consultation has opened so members of the public can have their say.
Under the proposals, services would be delivered from The Centre in Oswestry, Richmond House in Shrewsbury, Crowmoor Centre in Shrewsbury, Rockspring Centre in Ludlow and buildings in Whitchurch and Bridgnorth that are yet to be decided. Services would also be delivered at community venues and homes.
Councillor Nick Bardsley, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for children’s services and education, said: “The proposed new delivery model for Early Help services across the county will provide whole family support, dealing with all the issues a family faces, with their full involvement and consent.
"The principle of delivering these services through bases or hubs was generally well received during the first consultation but now we want to know people’s views about these more detailed proposals, and about the proposed locations of the six hubs, and I urge them to let us know what they think.
“We want to provide support to children and families who are most in need of our help, quickly and in the right way.
"We also currently spend an awful lot of money on a lot of buildings, some of which are only used for a very small part of the week.
"We think it’d far better to focus our resources on providing services for those who need our help, rather than paying for buildings.”
About 25 public meetings will be held, with the first having taken place this week in Ellesmere, Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Cleobury Mortimer and Shifnal.
The consultation will be open until July 12.
For more information visit http://shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/early-help-family-hubs-strategy/
