Despair for young couples after kids’ centre closures (From Echo)

Despair for young couples after kids’ centre closures

1:54pm Thursday 2nd February 2012 in News

With regard to your front page story, Outrage At Kids’ Centre Closures (Jan 31), the very nature of these sites is to help families who need child care and, perhaps, mums and dads who just need to have a break.

I presume parents send their children to particular centres because they are local and they do not want to traipse around the borough of Southend at awful times of the day to drop their kids off and pick them up.

You simply cannot take the view of Tory councillor Mark Flewitt that you can go to another site that is available.

Also, how much money is to be washed down the drain by making these sites redundant?

The one at Ambleside cost a pretty penny to build and kit out not so long ago.

My wife and I look after our grandchildren while our children work.

But my heart goes out to people who only use these particular sites because they are local to where they live.

In these days of economic instability and difficulty, especially with working families you would think, given its huge budget, £200k could be easily found by Southend Council.

It amazes me the council can find free parking for all councillors, but not places for children where parents really need some help.

I really despair for young couples in this borough.

Barry Mahoney
Church Road
Shoebury

..Your front page regarding the closure of children’s centres, Little Treasures and Cockleshells, is another example of the failure of Southend Council. It also highlights the importance of maintaining council tax at a level that is necessary without imposing a sudden high increase that we will all eventually be expected to pay.

Derek Matthews
Weare Gifford
Shoebury

...According to the Directgov website Sure Start Children’s centres: “Provide a variety of advice and support for parents and carers.

“Their services are available to you from pregnancy right through to when your child goes into reception class at primary school”.

“They are “are developed in line with the needs of the local community”.

It would seem the needs of the community are going to be less in 2012 than they were in 2011 I can think of no other explanation for the cuts that have just been announced by Southend’s Council.

Because of the promise frontline services would not be hit, I can only assume Sure Start, like bobbies on the beat, do not constitute part of the frontline.

Still, it’s nice to know young families are responsible for the crisis in global capitalism.

Julian Ware-Lane
Nelson Road
Leigh