CONTROVERSIAL cuts to children’s services will be decided by Bradford Council after the Easter break.

The cuts are expected to be rubber stamped at the executive meeting on April 3 but with some major changes that council bosses say were introduced after public consultations.

Both proposals have led to criticisms from families, unions and the Bradford People’s Assembly, which questioned whether vital children’s services would be able to cope after the cuts.

The council has admitted the proposals caused “worry” and apologised for “confusion” caused by the two consultations.

Last year Bradford Council announced that it would be cutting its prevention and early help services after a budget reduction of £13 million. The service helps families deal with young people’s issues such as health, youth offending and school attendance. The council said central government cuts would require around half of the positions in the department, up to 240 full-time equivalent roles, to be cut.

However, amended proposals would see fewer jobs lost, partly thanks to a last-minute, two-year cash boost to the service.

Originally the plan was for cuts to leave 200 full-time positions remaining in the department. Now the council plans for there to be 248 full-time positions.

The number of cuts has been reduced in part due to an extra £1 million being diverted into the service over the next two years, and partly by a reduction in the number of higher-paid managers in the department. The council says the new proposals will lead to fewer cuts to front-line staff.

The changes will lead to what the council describes as a “more community-led” and “user friendly” approach to the service. Families will be given a “single point of contact”, with help brought closer to those who need it most.

A 12-week public consultation into the changes saw over 1,200 people respond to the proposals, and 79 per cent of respondents to the consultation questionnaire stated that they either “strongly disagree” or “disagree” with the proposal to create an integrated Prevention and Early Help Service for 0 to 19-year-olds.

The council says the people who filled out a questionnaire had a “more negative” view of the proposals compared to those who attended consultation events.

Councillor Val Slater, executive for health and social care, said the majority of the people opposed to the changes were against the cuts, rather than being against the new model. She said the amendments came about after listening to concerns raised during the consultation.

The council is also planning major changes to its services for children with special educational needs or disabilities. Late last year it announced it was expecting to receive £15 million of funding from the Government for SEND children – but found out it would get just £7.5 million.

The original plans were for between 25 and 30 full-time posts to be cut, but new plans will see between 30 and 35-full time roles cut.

However, the council has said that all statutory SEND services would be retained.

The consultation into the SEND changes led to hundreds of responses, and the report going to the executive meeting said just over half, 52 per cent, of respondents “agree or strongly agree” with the proposed re-structure to the service.

The new service would include a single point of referral to simplify the process for families and schools.

There would also be an increased number of “portage” home visitors. Portage is a pre-school home visiting service for young children with SEND issues. The number of “access and inclusion officers” in the service has been reduced.

If approved, the new model would go live in September.

Cllr Slater said: “There was a lot of confusion for a lot of people with these consultations. There was a lot of worry regarding this. We apologise for that.”

The executive will meet on Tuesday, April 3, at 10.30am.