Council plans youth club and children's centre closures
Janaki Mahadevan
Friday, April 13, 2012
South Gloucestershire council is proposing to significantly reduce the number of children's centres and stop running youth clubs as part of plans to target services to the most vulnerable children, young people and families.
Currently the council runs 15 children’s centres, but in a consultation launched this week, the council said the success of the services varied considerably and only reached nine per cent of lone parents, 32 per cent of families with disabled children and 36 per cent of teenage parents.
To improve these figures the council has proposed to only run six centres, in areas where there are the highest concentration of disadvantaged families.
Similarly the council said that only 20 per cent of the 22,000 young people aged 13 to 19 in South Gloucestershire regularly visited the 13 youth clubs that the council runs.
A more targeted youth service is proposed involving provision of specialist services, outreach work and one-to-one support, but the council said it plans to transfer each youth club to local organisations including charities and parish councils.
Executive member for children and young people Sheila Cook said: “Our vision in South Gloucestershire is for all children and young people to enjoy a safe and healthy life, and achieve their maximum potential.
“Early intervention and preventative services are key to the realisation of that vision and it is vital that they deliver the highest-quality and best value service possible.
“At a time of public expenditure constraint, the consultation presents a number of options to reform, redevelop and enhance the services while also contributing towards the savings the council needs to make in the coming years.”
The council said that by refocusing services on early intervention and prevention, and making the services more integrated, it will provide better value for money.
It has also planned to create a targeted support service for parents by bringing together family support and parenting teams to provide early intervention services in partnership with other agencies including health and housing professionals.
The consultation is open until 25 May and if plans are approved they will be implemented from April 2013.
