Lambeth town hall reveals 30 jobs could be lost in children centre cuts

BY JAMES TWOMEY
james@slpmedia.co.uk

A town hall has unveiled plans to cut five children’s centres with the loss of 30 jobs.

Staff and parents are furious about a Lambeth council restructure for its children’s centres as a result of losing £1.4 million in government cuts.

The new service will see some centres become hubs, while other centres will run on part-time hours with limited play sessions.

Staff say they are concerned that the cuts will leave them unable to provide the level of care that many families need.

The current proposals have no specialist Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision.

Anna Day, an SEN worker and Unison representative, said: “Obviously we are all worried. There are too many people for the amount of jobs proposed.

“Three specialist jobs will be assimilated into regular care jobs, so there will be no more specialist jobs. They think anybody can do it.

“Two people have been let go already because of a lack of funding. Most people that work in the children’s centre are women aged between 50 and 59, so you can imagine how scary that is. Most of them only earn a part-time salary.

“But it’s a bigger problem than that. There will be areas that are too big for the amount of workers in them – like Norwood for example – and it will affect the children.”

The children’s centres that are losing funding are Lark Hall in Smedley Street, Weir Link in Weir Road, Heathbrook in Rule Street, Coin Street in Stamford Street and either Woodmansterne in Stockport Road or Sunnyhill in Sunnyhill Road.

The current proposal would see 26 job roles being deleted out of a current total of 73 posts.

Better Start workers, who deliver one-to-one support for troubled families, are also being cut from 16 to 12.

UNISON and GMB trade unions are calling on the council to halt the restructure to wait to see if there is an election as a new government could well restore significant funding to local authorities.

Ruth Cashman, from Lambeth UNISON, said: “Children’s centres provide opportunities for play, learning and social connection for otherwise potentially isolated children and parents, and also offer opportunities for carers to share their practical and emotional difficulties with staff and to seek support.

“They allow early intervention for families who need it, you will not find an honest professional who thinks that the removal of children’s centre services save money in the long term.

“We will pay for these cuts in the future in social services, education and health budgets and with children’s lives.

“There is no possible excuse for Lambeth to continue along this path with the research they have seen and the knowledge a general election is on the horizon.”

A Lambeth council spokesman said: “The council’s budget from central government has been cut by more than half since 2010, and government changes to the Dedicated Schools Grant mean that the council has £1.4million less a year to spend on children’s centres.

“The cuts have put us in an impossible situation, and we are reluctantly being forced to make some changes. Before making those changes the council has worked with staff, parents and schools to develop a model that delivers the best service in local areas.

“We have done a full public consultation on the proposals, and consultation with staff and the unions is ongoing as we work hard to avoid the need to make compulsory redundancies.

“The proposed new service will mean Lambeth will continue to have the third most children’s centres in London, spread across six parts of the borough, with better start workers who will be responsible for supporting all children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities.”