Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said that Oak Meadow Children’s Centre’s use of taxi firms was within the tradition of community transport. "If the prime purpose of children’s centres is to try to get people who would not normally use these services to access them, then you have to think creatively. Public transport can put some people off from attending centres and in some areas the links are not there."
Longfield was responding to criticism in local media of the Fareham-based centre’s use of taxis. Centre manager Debbie Simmons has said that without the free taxis many families would be unable to use the Sure Start centre.
Simmons added that the centre served more than 2,000 children under five with specialist services, and that every case was assessed on its own merits.
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