CONTROVERSIAL cuts to Bradford Council’s children’s services have been watered down in response to negative reactions in public consultation.
The new plans will still mean hundreds of job losses, but 48 more FTE posts that had faced the axe will now be saved.
The cuts are expected to be rubber stamped at the Executive meeting on April 3, but with some major changes that Council bosses say were introduced after public consultations.
Both the original and revised proposals have faced criticism from families, unions and the Bradford People’s Assembly, which questioned whether vital children’s services would be able to cope after the cuts.
The Council has admitted the proposals caused “worry” and apologised for “confusion” caused by the two consultations.
Last year Bradford Council announced that it would be cutting its prevention and early help services after a budget reduction of £13 million. The service helps families deal with young people’s issues such as health, youth offending, school attendance and making sure children are ready for school. The Council said central government cuts would require around half of the positions in the department, up to 240 full time equivalent roles, to be cut.
However, amended proposals would see fewer jobs lost, partly thanks to a last minute, two year cash boost to the the service.
Originally the plan was for cuts to leave 200 full time positions remaining in the department. Now the council plans for there to be 248 full time positions in the service after the cuts.
The number of cuts have been reduced in part due to an extra £1 million being diverted into the service over the next two years, and in part by a reduction in the number of higher paid managers in the department. The Council says the new proposals will lead to fewer cuts to front line staff.
The changes will lead to what the council describe as a “more community-led” and “user friendly” approach to the service. Families will be given a “single point of contact,” with help brought closer to those who need it most.
A 12 week public consultation into the changes saw over 1,200 respond to the proposals, and 79 per cent of respondents to the consultation questionnaire stated that they either “strongly disagree” or “disagree” with the proposal to create an integrated Prevention and Early Help Service for 0-19-year olds.
The Council says the people who filled out a questionnaire had a “more negative” view of the proposals compared to those who attended consultation events.
Councillor Val Slater, Executive for Health and Social Care, told the Telegraph & Argus that the majority of the people opposed to the changes were opposed to the cuts, rather than being against the new model. She said the amendments came about after listening to concerns raised during the consultation.
Article originally appeared on The Telegraph and Argus
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