Cuts to child health services after council vote

A county council has decided to go ahead with controversial changes to its children's health services, despite local opposition.

Suffolk County Council's ruling cabinet has backed proposals to make cuts to its school nursing service and its dedicated support for teenage parents.

The Reform UK-led authority said its Healthy Child Programme would still receive an extra £5.1m in annual investment, but that changes were needed due to "significant financial pressures".

The Labour MP for Ipswich, Jack Abbott, said the changes were "another dark day for children and families" in Suffolk.

June Mummery, the council's cabinet member for public health, said the changes would lead to a service that was both safe and sustainable and one "that gives every Suffolk child the right start in life".

She said that costs for the service were set to reach £18.6m by 2029 and that Suffolk needed more money.

"I have written to the government calling for an urgent review of Suffolk's funding allocation, and I am also inviting Suffolk's MPs to join me in making that case," she said.

Abbott pointed out that the Labour government increased its funding for local councils in England by 4.3% in real terms this year, but admitted "that doesn't mean all these challenges go away overnight".

A protest was held outside the council's headquarters on Friday, opposing the cuts.

Ahead of the meeting on Tuesday, the council said it had ditched plans to cut community staff nurses from its health visiting service.

However, Beccy Hopfensperger, deputy leader of the Conservative group, said that when asked "directly" at cabinet - the administration "couldn't guarantee that their existing positions would be kept".

Mummery has said all staff nurses will be offered a job in the future service, with the caveat that some of those jobs may be for different roles, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Offering nurses a different job under a new model is not the same as saving the jobs they currently do," said Hopfensperger.

"We have heard from nurses, staff and families who are genuinely worried."

The proposed changes for community staff nurses and other posts are expected to be detailed in a staff consultation early next year, before the changes go live in July.

Ash Lever, the opposition Green Party spokesperson for children, said he and colleagues were "deeply disappointed" to see the "administration is not prioritising the most vulnerable".

"Cutting early help for families and young children often leads to a greater cost to the council's social care services later on," he said.

"It is essential that young parents, for example, receive the right support at the time they most need it."

The council currently has nurses providing dedicated support to vulnerable young parents aged under 21, but in the future, the authority proposes offering this as part of its mainstream health visiting service.

Jess Asato, the Labour MP for Lowestoft, said: "These cuts were a political choice, and Reform's attempts to portray its partial reversals as 'saving' services are disgraceful."

Mummery acknowledged the changes would have an impact but stressed they would lead to "better outcomes for children and families" while keeping the service financially sustainable.

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