‘Buildings create community’ say petitioners on centre closure plans
‘Services can be provided without buildings – but the buildings create community.’
This was the message when a petition calling for West Sussex County Council to halt the proposed closure of some of its children and family centres was presented.
The petition, which attracted more than 10,000 signatures – though only 3,683 have been verified as having a link with the county – was discussed on Friday (March 19).
Councillors decided by 44 votes to five, with 13 abstentions, that the petition and the debate they had held should be considered as part of the ongoing consultation.
A call from Labour leader Michael Jones to support the petition did not go to the vote.
The petition was launched in response to the proposed redesign of the council’s Early Help service, which the county council says are aimed at making sure it reaches the most vulnerable children and families, helping them as early as possible to make sure they don’t head down the social care route.
The most controversial aspect of the proposals is to reduce the number of children and family centres from 43 to 11. The remaining facilities would run full time and incorporate the youth advice centres.
Denying that the current public consultation was ‘meaningless’ or that the proposals were ‘effectively a done deal’, Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “A review of the current centrebased offer has identified that this method of service provision is not necessarily reaching those families that need us. The number of vulnerable families in attendance at those centres where the service proposes to withdraw are either very low or non-existent.”
Her views were not shared by others.
Petitioner Catherine Arnold argued that some of the benefits of having the buildings – such as breast feeding clinics, family liaison rooms and identifying domestic violence – could not be replicated in people’s homes.
She said: “Services can be provided without buildings – but the buildings create community. Quite frankly, that community has been decimated by Covid and yet you are making a substantial change to early years and children’s services right now in the middle of a pandemic.”