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ISSUE: Chiswick Child and Family Centre |
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Councillor Hails Cross-Party Co-operation in Centre Vote The Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Riverside Paul Lynch gives his view of the broader implications of the recent vote on the Child and Family Centre The new style of working for Councils, which the Local Government reforms intended, are beginning to bear fruit. Residents have long disdained petty point-scoring by Councillors, and rightly feel that posture politics have no place in our Borough. No one would say that party shouting matches are entirely gone, but the debate on the future of Chiswick Child and Family Centre last week showed great hope for a constructive future. Everyone realised that the outcome would have long term consequences for the lives of many special needs children, a new spirit of cross party co-operation was evident. The resulting vote was for a compromise, which will involve parents in planning and directing the work of the centre, which will seek alternative funding from the voluntary sector. It was a vote for having the penny and the bun, a budget saving for the Council, and the continued use of an excellent facility. We must all welcome the way people have worked together on this issue. I have worked hard to save the child and family centre, so have Labour Councillors, but above all the impetus has come from parents and ex-parents. When we take this forward we will only succeed if we work together. Decision on Centre taken off September Meeting Agenda The case being made by Council Officers Parents not Optimistic about November 7th Meeting Split in Ruling Group Saves Centre for Now 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.
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