SIX of our children’s centres set to close as council looks to balance books
AUTHORITY AIMS TO HELP PLUG ITS BUDGET SHORTFALL WITH POTENTIAL £169K SAVING
We should be trying to protect the most vulnerable in our
community
COUNCIL chiefs are planning to close six family hub centres which provide support for hundreds of the poorest families.
Those earmarked for closure are Highgate in Cleethorpes, Immingham, Scartho and Strand on Grimsby’s East Marsh, which have been closed since March last year. Broadway and Riverside are also proposed for closure, according to a report going to a cabinet meeting tomorrow.
There are currently 12 Children’s Centres in North East Lincolnshire and some have day care places. Several are attached to schools and provide support to parents who can access a range of services, including health, well-being, financial advice and food.
Central in Grimsby, Nunsthorpe and Bradley Park and Queensway and Reynolds could be retained as they have re-opened because they were able to adapt to Covid restrictions. East Marsh and West Marsh also need to be retained mainly because they give support in the
Councillor Matthew
Patrick
most deprived areas of North East Lincolnshire.
Their central location in the neighbourhoods with the greatest need enable staff to work with priority case families. Councillors have been recommended to save money by closing the sites and streamlining the service in to so-called “super hubs.” Cabinet members will assess the £169,000 savings per year as they seek to amend a financial shortfall in the council’s budget of an estimated £6million.
As well as the financial implications, councillors have also been told the reason for closing is “due to alternative methods of service delivery, proximity to other venues that are available for partnership working arrangements and provide the lowest footfall.”
The report added: “All six sites are recommended for continued mothballing leading to permanent closure as a Family Hub.
“There will be the opportunity to consider whether the accommodation could be re-purposed or if not, lead to a transfer to an adjacent Academy.”
Councillors were told: “The service delivery model focuses on the importance of building place-based services so rather than having multiple sites, it is encouraged to move to a Super Hub model where all professionals can work together which meets the strategic outcome of sustainable communities.”
The Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, Councillor Philip Jackson and Councillor Ian Lindley, the portfolio holder for children’s education and young people have been urged to work with senior officers on the closure plan. Leader of the Opposition Group on North East Lincolnshire Council,
Councillor Matthew Patrick said he was shocked by the proposals. “We should be trying to protect the most vulnerable in our community. The savings proposed are relatively minimal set against the council’s shortfall of between £4million to £6million.
“The whole point of the Children’s Centres is to support families before they reach a crisis point and the much greater cost of looking after children and families,” he said. Cabinet members will assess the recommendations at their meeting from 5pm on Wednesday.