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ISSUE: Chiswick Child and Family Centre |
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Labour Split Saves Centre for Now Hounslow Council suffered a set back in its plans to shut the Chiswick Child and Family centre as members of the ruling Labour group joined other parties in voting to defer the proposal. Gunnersbury ward councillor David Hopkins put forward a motion to defer the decision until next March. The argument being that the consultation was flawed and that parents were presented with a fait accompli. Cllr. Ellar who overseas Social Services on the Council executive argued that the centre should be closed due to under use and that parents could easily travel to Brentford for care. However as parents using the centre pointed out the number of children attending the centre has been declining because it has ceased to take admissions. The Council appear to be using a measure that pre-empted the consultation process to justify the closure. With the centre not taking admissions this decision can probably only be regarded as a stay of execution. Decision on Centre taken off September Meeting Agenda The case being made by Council Officers Parents not Optimistic about November 7th Meeting OFSTED Reports on the two centres Note - the Brentford Centre was reinspected in July of this year and the tone of that report is apparently much more favourable than the report on OFSTED's web site. What You Can Do: The Councillor responsible for social services in the Borough is Colin Ellar - to contact him click here Contact your local councillor in Hounslow Borough. To find out who your councillor is click here. Write to the local MP: Ann Keen, House of Commons, SW1A 0AA E-mail a message of support to the campaign - click here
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