Westminster parents fear cuts will harm their children’s futures, as the council seeks to move away from universal services to targeted two-year-old provision.
The local authority is consulting on proposals to remodel children’s and young people’s services to save £1.3m over the next two years, of which £665,000 will be from its children’s centres budget.
Meanwhile, the council spends around £140,000 on chauffeur-driven cars.
Anne Watson, who frequently attends the borough’s Westbourne children’s centre near Ladbroke Grove with her six-month-old son Oscar, said she would no longer be able to. The proposals include offering childcare for two-year-olds rather than babies.
Calling on dignitaries to consider a cheaper mode of transport, Ms Watson said, ‘If Boris can go to work on his bike as Mayor of London, so can the Westminster mayor.
‘It’s a question of what are your priorities – vital services or looking important?’ she added.
Ms Watson praised the centre, which is located near a number of council estates and offers crucial free support to new mothers from a range of backgrounds.
She and Oscar attend various classes each week and also use the drop-in service.
‘The staff are so good and what they provide is amazing,’ she said.
‘Having the centre so near means that if I’m on my way there and something unplanned happens – a nappy change or a meltdown – I can deal with that and still get there.
‘If I was having to get a bus, I think I’d be less likely to manage it at difficult times.’
If the proposals go ahead, three of the borough’s 15 centres will become ‘children and family hubs’, which would also be extended up to 19-year-olds.
The changes would leave just four council-run centres functioning fully – a false economy, said Ms Watson.
‘A happy, healthy mum is a better parent and it’s arguably the early years that are the most important for preventing problems later on,’ she said.
Helena Krawitz, who led a campaign against proposed cuts to a drop-in nursery at Essendine School, said, ‘It rankles with me that the council can be creative enough to ask for a cut in children’s services and doesn’t look at the way it’s operating other departments.’
Westminster North MP Karen Buck warned that the cuts would ‘come back and haunt us’ and said she had been deluged by concerned constituents.
‘Spending tens of thousands on chauffeured cars and on private healthcare for senior staff cannot be justified while children’s centres are closing, school-age childcare is being ended and most funding is being withdrawn from the youth service.’
A council spokesman said the authority was proposing to turn Churchill Gardens, Church Street and Queen’s Park premises into ‘children and family hubs’, while retaining existing children’s centre services.
‘We are also exploring adding services for older children, after-school, at these hubs, and our consultation asks what services residents would like to see in the hubs for their older children,’ added the spokesman.
Maida Vale Children’s Centre would also continue to provide a range of children’s centre services.
The spokesman added, ‘All other children’s centres will either deliver free childcare for eligible two-year-olds or we will work with the community to facilitate the set-up of community-based stay and play sessions at the sites. We will be working closely with staff, our partners, health and the wider community over the next few months to develop this model.’