Council presses ahead with withdrawal of early help services in Shropshire

Shropshire Council intends to set up seven early help family bases as a replacement service, the authority's cabinet decided yesterday.

The centres are designed to help families who need support and to prevent children coming to harm or having to go into social services.

Councillor Nick Bardsley, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, said the decision had been taken to save nearly £1 million, and because the current services were "rarely used".

He said: "The sessions we were running, some of them were very poorly attended, even in Shrewsbury, so clearly the service that has been provided is not what the people want. The new service will be very much more focussed, very focussed on families that need the services, rather than scattered about in different buildings.

Under the plans there will be new centres at The Centre in Oswestry, Sunflower House and Crowmoor Centre in Shrewsbury, Rockspring Centre in Ludlow, Whitchurch, the youth centre in Bridgnorth, and at Market Drayton.

They will provide venues for 'some service interventions' and to 'support families with children throughout the age range'.

According to the council the centres will provide parenting support, early childhood services, as well as help from health, education and voluntary organisations.

Village halls

Services will be withdrawn from centres at Richmond House, Buttercup Lodge, Honeysuckle Lodge, Mereside Primary School, Meole Brace Primary School, Ellesmere Primary School, St Peters Primary School in Wem, Whitchurch Infants School, Longlands Primary School, Market Drayton Infant School, Albrighton Primary School, St Andrew’s Primary School in Shifnal, St Mary’s Bluecoat Primary School in Bridgnorth, Church Stretton School, Stokesay Primary School, Crowgate in Bishops Castle, Holy Trinity in Oswestry, Woodside Primary School in Oswestry, Baschurch Village Hall, and Morda Primary School.

Under the plans families that most need support will be able to access the services in "their own homes" or local village halls or community centres, according to Councillor Bardsley.

He said that families would be able to access a directory of services through the council's website, and would be able to speak to advisors or social workers attached to their local centre.

Councillor Bardsley said: "Early help is an extremely important part of children's services. It is what it says, it aims to support families at an early stage and prevent very much more expensive intervention later which can result in children being brought in to care.

"No one wants to bring children into care unless that is essential but we have to keep children safe and the demand on children's services has been growing, and particularly steeply in the past 24 months.

"The services are very thinly spread over a large number of centres across Shropshire. Many of those buildings are rarely used and just the cost of keeping buildings open can save us thousands a year."

He added: "I make no apology for saying this will save money."

Councillor Bardsley said he expected to see no buildings left empty as a result of the changes.

He said: "I do not think there will be a single children's centre building left empty. In many circumstances we have an adjoining nursery keen to expand from half the building into the whole building."

The decision was questioned by the council's Labour leader Alan Mosley, who said £300,000 was being saved by withdrawing the services from buildings, but queried where the remaining £700,000 would be saved.

In response Councillor Bardsley said: "Of course there is a reduction in staff. If you have got people going round to children's centres sitting round for a whole morning with no one coming in then that is a wast of resources and a waste of money."