---

My response as your County Councillor  to County’s consultation on their intention to change/close Suffolk Childrens centres. I emailed my response because I had reservations about the format and design of the online consultation, as I told them in my opening paragraph. My other concerns and suggestions:

Firstly I want to put on record my personal disappointment at the way this Childrens Centre consultation disenfranchises the residents of Woodbridge and its surrounding area.

When this consultation was first announced – in July 2019 – I publicly asked the (then) Cabinet member for an assurance that people in Woodbridge would be ‘properly’ consulted – eg be offered real options for the future of their centre, because the proposals before Cabinet offered no option for the Woodbridge Children’s Centre but closure. You cannot consult on a fait accompli, I pointed out.

My concerns were dismissed by the Cabinet member with the platitude that the people of Woodbridge “would have every opportunity to respond at the consultation.”  Respond to what? Like the original proposals, this ‘consultation’ offers no option for the Caterpillar Centre apart from closure. As I said, you cannot consult on a fait accompli.