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![\"Campaigners](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Untitled-design-1-e1749297433790.png\" "\\"Campaigners")
<\/p>\nCampaigners seeking to overturn a West London council decision to close ten children\u2019s centres in the borough say they are considering legal action.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night (July 3), the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Ealing Council responded to an opposition call-in urging Cabinet to reconsider its decision, however this was not upheld and the Labour-majority committee agreed with Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Ealing Council announced the plan to close 13 children\u2019s centres in March, however following a public campaign, reduced this to 10. Claire Welsby, a campaigner for Save Ealing\u2019s Children Centre\u2019s told the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS] that the fight will continue.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the meeting she said: \u201cWe are going to continue, we\u2019re going to look at judicial review. Obviously there is a big financial implication about that, and we need to seek advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are lots of things we would look at and we would focus on the process. But also, we will continue to hold them to account, through freedom of information requests, continuing to go to public meetings, and continuing to hold protests.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee had granted speaking time to the Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Gary Malcolm, and three members of the public, all involved in the campaign. However, to the shock of one parent, and most members of the public in the packed out committee room, her speaking time had been taken away.<\/p>\n
The committee Chair, Cllr Lauren Wall, told the mum, Emily, that she had received an email notifying her that her speaking time had been withdrawn as the council had received \u201clots of communications about Hathaway Children\u2019s Centre\u201d. Clara, another campaigner, decided to use her speaking time to read Emily\u2019s statement as she was denied the opportunity.<\/p>\n
Claire Welsby told the LDRS that it was \u201cunderhand\u201d to revoke her speaking time last minute. She said: \u201cOne busy parent with a young child doesn\u2019t have time to look out for a second email when the\u2019\u2019re not expecting it, being told they can\u2019t speak when they\u2019d already been told they can.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut also the manner in which they were spoken to, I thought it was really inappropriate. We are all residents of Ealing, we are all voters, and we are all entitled to be a part of local democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat Councillor Gary Malcolm, Leader of the Opposition, described the decision as \u201ca disgrace\u201d. He said: \u201cLiberal Democrats believe that this decision is deeply flawed. This is another example of Ealing Labour holding a consultation, ignoring the results and then axing vital services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe closures will result in worse outcomes for the vulnerable children and families across the borough and reduced accessibility. They are closing the children\u2019s centres before they have thought about what they will have in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Previously, an Ealing Council spokesperson said: \u201cChildren\u2019s centres provide vital services for families and are cornerstones of the community, but the current set up is not working. We have 25 centres, but despite increased demand for statutory children\u2019s services, not all families who could benefit are using them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupporting our most vulnerable residents is a top priority for us and our aim with the children\u2019s centres is to design a service more tailored to our families\u2019 needs and move services into the community to better reach those who may need our help while retaining the largest number of children\u2019s centres in London.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is to reach more families, earlier, with better support, and while some centres will no longer operate in their current form, the services themselves are being enhanced, with all seven towns seeing an increase in children\u2019s centre activity following the changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve worked closely with the community throughout this process and have engaged with over 2,000 residents and have adapted plans based on what we\u2019ve heard. We remain open to ongoing dialogue with all community stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n
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