Buckinghamshire County Council said it will need to shave around £500,000 from its children's centres budget over the next two years. The future of the local authority's 35 children’s centres will form part of a review of family support services.
The council told CYP Now that it hopes to substantially increase the number of volunteers across its children's centres and will also consider introducing service charges to users.
Lead member for education and skills, Zahir Mohammed, said there are also a number of local community groups that are happy to take on some centres.
Mohammed said the council, which has not closed any of the county’s children’s centres before, will focus on how to deliver services more efficiently and better target families most in need.
“We’re trying to meet the challenges of increasing demand we have with population growth, which is going to be a challenge for us going forward,” he said.
"We face difficult decisions, but if we don't provide a more targeted service, we won't achieve the savings we need to make. A do-nothing approach is not an option,” he said.
The review will close around the end of June. Earlier this week, Birmingham City Council said cuts to its children's centres will be "inevitable".
The government had said it would launch a consultation on the future of children's centres in the summer. The consultation had been due to launch last autumn but has been delayed.
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