Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
Wirral Council criticised for financial decision-making
A government report has criticised Wirral Council for avoiding ‘difficult financial decisions’ as it looked to plug a £9 million budget hole.
The council applied to the government for extra help last year, and has been blamed for dipping into its reserves due to a ‘prevailing culture’ of avoiding tough decisions.
A report by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the council's financial woes were not all down to dealing with the pandemic, instead highlighting the council's reluctance to close or cut back on its leisure and sport facilities, or for refusing to make cuts to any of its 16 libraries, make staff redundant or increase car park charges.
Local Government Minister Kemi Badenoch told the council's Labour leader Janette Williamson that she was ‘concerned that you have not fully acknowledged or perhaps even understood the severity of the challenge that your council faces’.
The council's chief executive Paul Satoor has now said that the authority would ‘take time to fully digest the findings and recommendations made in these reviews’.
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