Story: Sheffield Law Centre
Four women – one from Fir Vale – who challenged the Council in court about cuts to community nurseries – have lost their case.
A judge at the High Court ruled that the Council did not act illegally when cutting grant funding to the nurseries in deprived areas of the city.
The judge praised the contribution the nurseries make to local communities and said he hoped they would all be “able to survive and flourish.” In fact, the Meadows nursery at Shirecliffe closed shortly before the hearing in July. Other nurseries have lost places for under-2s, as well as other services.
The Council admitted the cuts were to ‘divert funding into early intervention and prevention.’ ‘Prevention and Early Intervention’ is the formal name for the Council’s own MAST service, now based at Sorby House. The judge accepted the evidence of Councillor Jackie Drayton, who explained the Cabinet members all read the impact assessments for each nursery so they were properly aware of the effect of the decision.
The Council had earlier denied the existence of these documents when originally requested. The impact assessments have still not been made public.