East Thanet MP Polly Billington on the loss of children's service at family centre in Sheerness and Millmead
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00:00I've been hopeful right up until the last that they would make the right decision and I'm
00:03absolutely devastated that they've decided against it. They literally have no excuse.
00:09They've been given more than four million pounds by this Labour government in order to be able to
00:14support services for vulnerable families in deprived areas. Millmead serves one of the
00:19most deprived parts of the south east, as indeed does Seashells on the Isle of Sheppey,
00:24and yet they have decided to close these in the next couple of months.
00:28Now that doesn't just mean job losses, it means the end of services for really vulnerable
00:34families and children in really deprived areas. Now I know Kent will say that they've really
00:40strapped for cash and they're providing the services elsewhere. Both of those things may
00:44well be true, but they're not the point. For a start, some of the services that are currently
00:49being provided will not be provided at all. Some of the services will be provided elsewhere. Now
00:54I know there'll be a lot of people watching who will say, well can't they get in their car
00:59and make it around a little bit further away, a couple of miles.
01:02Lots of people don't have cars. These are some of the poorest families in the south east.