£2.5 MILLION BRUM NURSERY CUTS CONFIRMED

01-03-2010

Anxious parents awaiting news of the fate of Council run nurseries in Birmingham should look away now – £2.5 million is being slashed from the departmental budget in the next two years.

Earlier this month, the Birmingham Mail raised fears that 23 nurseries run by the local authority would shut by the end of next year – leading to possible job losses and major inconvenience for mums and dads who would then have to find places in the private sector.

At the time, the Council responded with its now familiar “no decisions have been taken” line.

However, The Stirrer can confirm that the nurseries budget is expected to contribute savings of £2.5million by 2011-2012 to the Childrens Young People and Families department - with £1.45m of those cuts being made in the coming year 2010/2011.

What this means in practice remains unclear – apart from the fact that job losses and service cuts now appear inevitable.

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