Notts County Council under fire for 'callous cuts' to children's speech and language provisions

Nottinghamshire County Council has announced plans to alter its provision for early intervention speech therapists, with estimates that two thirds could be cut from the budget next year.

The new changes are centred around Children’s Centres, which are based across the county and aim to provide wrap-around care and early intervention for the most-vulnerable families.

It comes alongside changes to mental health support for new mums, which have been described by Labour’s Councillor Liz Plant as “callous and incompetent”.

The contract for the centres is being brought back in house by the council in June, and services are being cut in a bid to save £1 million from the current £10.4 million budget.

Representatives from the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists, the field’s professional body which represents more than 17,000 therapists nationwide, have hit out at the planned cuts in a letter to council leader Coun Kay Cutts.

Kamini Gadhok, chief executive, says progress has been made in the area, which will be “put at risk” and that it runs “counter to government policy” in the field.

She said: “We are concerned that the progress made to date could be put at risk by the proposed reductions to the current SLCN service.

“The successes are evidenced not only by national recognition, but also by peer-reviewed research and Nottinghamshire's communication and language outcomes at age five, as measured by the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile.

“A key performance indicator for the Department for Education is to halve the percentage of children who do not achieve at least expected levels across all goals in 'communication and language', and 'literacy' areas at the end of reception year, by 2028.

“We therefore strongly urge the council to reconsider the proposed changes to children.

“We appreciate councils are under significant financial pressures, but research has shown that investing in early language provides a positive return on investment, in both the short and long term.”

Councillor Philip Owen, chairman of the council’s children and young people’s committee which made the decision, has defended the move.

Speaking at its committee meeting, he said it will provide a “joined-up service” and that the council is “not shutting” any Children’s Centres.

He said: “We’re going to provide a more joined up service. The new pathway is going to evolve with speech and language therapy.

“I know it must come as a great disappointment to you [Labour] that we’re not shutting large numbers of Children’s Centres.

“[Labour] said it’s going to be the end of the world, and the end of the Children’s Centres, and that just hasn’t happened.

“We are looking to streamline the services to provide better outcomes and that is what it is all about.”