Oxfordshire County Council is facing a legal challenge over its plans to cut the number of children’s centres in the county.
The parents of children at the centres have launched a legal bid, arguing the council has broken the law by targeting the children’s centres for cuts in a bid to meet its funding shortfall.
However, the Oxfordshire CC claims the judicial review is ‘legally an factually misconceived’.
In a statement it said: ‘Their case is that local authorities cannot take any service delivery decisions which are firm for more than one financial year & cannot plan ahead of that. That is obviously not the law.
‘The children’s centres campaigners have not explained why they say it is, or referred to any statutory provision or other authority in support.
‘The council has carried out two consultations and conducted impact assessments.’
The council plans voted to keep 18 of its 44 children’s centres open – a change from its original plan to cut all 44 and replace them with eight new centres.
