Rotherham children centre closures: Views sought

Plans to close more than half of Rotherham's children's centres due to budget cuts are to be put to public consultation.

Rotherham Council proposed at a meeting last month to close 13 of the 22 buildings for the 2015/16 budget year.

The council said the centres helped an average of 9,000 children under five and their families every year.

The £5m Early Years and Child Care Service is to be cut by £2.2m during 2014-16, according to council figures.

The consultation is to run until 30 April and include seven public meetings. Staff are also to be consulted.

The nine remaining buildings would form seven centres offering their services to wider catchment areas, the council added.

Councillor Paul Lakin said: "We appreciate this will have an impact on the quality and quantity of service on offer but we believe that providing seven centres is better than no service at all."