Mum knows best

David Cameron’s own mother has signed a petition against his cuts to children’s services in Tory led Oxfordshire county council.

She was persuaded to sign the petition by her sister, Clare Currie, who lives in Oxford and is a supporter of the centres.

Oxfordshire county council plans to shut all of its 44 children’s centres and seven early intervention (EIS) hubs, including in the prime minister’s Witney constituency.

Local authorities in England have had their government funding slashed by 40 per cent since Mr Cameron entered Downing Street in 2010.

David Cameron wrote to the council leader in September to complain about the ‘counterproductive’ cuts to frontline services in his own constituency.

Council leader Ian Hudspeth has pointed out that cuts are a result of Mr Cameron’s bid to reduce the deficit, which had been ‘central to the manifesto’ for last May’s general election victory.

Unite has accused the council of turning its back on children, young people and their families as it pushes ahead with plans to slash £8m from its children’s services budget for 2016/17, which is a 50 per cent funding cut.

Unite members working in early intervention for the council will stage a 24-hour walk-out next Tuesday (February 16) after voting overwhelmingly in favour of strike action over plans to shut the centres.

“Our members are highly skilled professionals and deeply committed to the children, young people and the families they work with day in day out,” said Unite regional officer Chris Gray.

“But they have decided that they cannot sit back and watch while the council denies Oxfordshire’s young people a future and destroys its top class children’s early intervention service,” he added.

EIS hubs offer early intervention and specialist services to children, young people and families with additional and complex needs. The hubs are also a base for direct work with them and a venue through which youth sessions can be delivered in the evenings and weekends.

“In writing that letter, David Cameron has exposed the two-faced nature of his stance, by urging austerity from central government on the one hand, and then taking the council leader to task for implementing his government’s own policies,” said Chris.

The children’s centres offer a range of services including access to child and family health services, support on looking for work, somewhere to meet other families and carers, support for new parents and families with children with additional needs.

“The prime minster and his Tory council leader would do well to remember that our members work with some of the country’s most vulnerable families,” said Chris.

“The one to one support they provide on issues from domestic abuse to help with self-harm and drug and alcohol misuse is vital to turning lives around,” he added.

Unite is urging people to show their support for this vital service, which gives Oxfordshire’s young people a start in life by joining Unite members on the picket line on Tuesday 16 February outside Oxford county hall, OX1 1ND from 08.00.

Join David Cameron’s mum and sign the petition against the closures here.