No Reprieve for Ten Children's Centres in Ealing Borough

Ten children centres in Ealing are set to be closed after the council’s cabinet gave approval to the cost saving measures on Wednesday (June 11), though this is three fewer than originally planned.

Following a strong campaign to keep the centres open, the partial victory will not see locals back down as they vowed to fight on over the remaining ten and called for a complete U-turn.

Ealing Council announced that the Jubilee (Ealing), Petts Hill (Northolt), and Dormers Wells (Southall) Children’s Centres will remain open, having previously been mooted for closure.

The Save Ealing Children’s Centres group said: “The council’s amended plans offer a reprieve to just three centres originally earmarked for closure, following public pressure. While campaigners welcome the reprieve of these centres, they condemn the decision to press ahead with cuts that will leave many families without vital early years support…

“We are not going away. We will continue fighting for an Early Help offer that truly serves our families – without closing the very centres that make it possible.”

Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Councillor Josh Blacker, Cabinet Member for a Fairer Start, said: “We will retain three further centres, so parents have a choice to use those venues… we will repurpose the others to provide services for families and children across the borough.”

Questions have been raised around the proposed monetary savings of closing the centres, which originally totalled £750,000 with 13 closures. At a meeting of full council on Tuesday (June 10), Cllr Blacker was asked how the council still expects to save £750,000, whilst retaining three more centres.

He responded to these questions in Thursday’s cabinet meeting. He said: “There was a question at full council last night around how this revised plan fits in with the budget saving… I hope that it is clear from this enhanced offer and the increased outreach, that the savings are not predicated on us running fewer services.”

He added: “The savings are through running a more efficient estate, and the prevention work will create further saving through cost avoidance by preventing those social care savings further down the line.”

According to Cllr Blacker, the children’s centres consultation was the largest ever consultation undertaken by children’s services.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jonathan Oxley tabled an amendment, backed by the Conservatives, urging the Labour-led council to withdraw the closure plans. He said Sure Start was a “jewel” of the last Labour government, accusing the council of “finishing off the Tories’ work in closing them”.

All Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors voted in favour of the opposition motion urging the council to U-turn on the closures. All present Labour councillors voted against or did not vote.

An Ealing Council spokesperson said: “Children’s centres provide vital services for families and are cornerstones of the community, but the current set up is not working. We have 25 centres, but despite increased demand for statutory children’s services, not all families who could benefit are using them.

“Supporting our most vulnerable residents is a top priority for us and our aim with the children’s centres is to design a service more tailored to our families’ needs and move services into the community to better reach those who may need our help while retaining the largest number of children’s centres in London.

“The goal is to reach more families, earlier, with better support, and while some centres will no longer operate in their current form, the services themselves are being enhanced, with all seven towns seeing an increase in children’s centre activity following the changes.

“We’ve worked closely with the community throughout this process and have engaged with over 2,000 residents and have adapted plans based on what we’ve heard. We remain open to ongoing dialogue with all community stakeholders.”

Full list of children’s centres closing:

Academy Gardens
Copley Close
Greenfields
Grove House
Hathaway
Log Cabin
Maples
Northolt Park
Windmill
Windmill Park Children’s Centres

Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter