Oxfordshire children's centre cuts consultation opens

About 70 people protested outside Oxford's County Hall on 9 September, with further demonstrations held in the city the following week

A public consultation into plans to reduce Oxfordshire's children's centres has begun.

Oxfordshire County Council wants to save £8m by reducing the number from 44 to eight or six.

The plans have met with protests in Oxford and opposed by David Cameron, who said the authority should make cuts elsewhere.

The consultation is open until 10 January. Feedback can be completed by going to the council's website.

The council's preferred option is to create a new service for children up to the age of 19, using eight centres.

The second option would see eight centres but with limited universal services.

The third option would see just six centres with £1m per year released which the authority said would be used as grant funding to the voluntary and community sector services for families.

The county council, run by a Conservative-Independent alliance, said the focus in the options was on protecting the most vulnerable children from abuse and neglect.

Three public meetings to discuss the proposals are also being held by the authority from 18 November.