At a meeting last week to consider revised proposals to re-organise the management of the county's children's centres and make savings of around £20m, Councillor Roy Perry, deputy leader and executive lead member for children's services, announced that all 81 children's centres will remain open, but that many will be merged as 'clusters' and under the management of third-party organisations.
The council has agreed on all the measures set out in its revised proposals, which it adapted in response to 1,200 comments raised during the consultation into the reorganisation of the children's centres, which ended on 15 April. The measures include the removal of three children's centres attached to maintained nursery schools from the merger and cluster deals, clustering 15 children's centres rather than the eight originally suggested, and reducing the maximum cluster size to five centres.
A charging policy for discretionary services for families in less need than those on low incomes will also be developed.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Perry said, 'I have listened very carefully to the feedback from more than 1,200 responses to our extended consultation, together with comments from a series of meetings we held around the county, the petition from the Save Our Children's Centres campaigners in Hampshire, and heard directly from mothers who gave deputations. My decision rested not just on the responses alone but other factors, including the lack of any viable alternatives to achieve the necessary savings.'
Kate Reynolds of the Save Our Children's Centres Hampshire group said she was outraged by the council's decision.
'During the meeting the council implied that there will be greater cuts to services than what we first thought. What's the point in keeping open a children's centre when it is an empty shell? I can't get my head around the fact that one person makes this big a decision, which affects people's lives.'
She added, 'We are now looking into whether we can appeal the decision and will be continuing with the judicial proceedings.'