Hertfordshire County Council wants to cut costs and keep children in care closer to home. So it has plans to open 27 places in residential care by the end of the year. Fourteen of these are already up and running.
But, reports the Herfordshire Mercury, a councillor has:
pointed the finger at the ‘ridiculous objections’ that are made to proposals for new children’s homes in the county - such as fears relating to gangs, drugs and knives.
That councillor is the Conservative Peter Hebden:
"There’s not a lot gets me angry in local politics, but this does," said Cllr Hebden, who said he had seen "the most ridiculous objections" to children’s care homes. Typically prospective children’s care homes are converted modern-day family style homes with room for just two, three or four residents.
And they go through the planning process, because of the change of planning use required. Cllr Hebden suggests there should be a way that they could be 'fast-tracked' - rather than going through what could be a ‘slow laborious process’.
And at the meeting he highlighted some of the issues that could be put forward by objectors. "They have these visions of feral rogue gangs of inner-city children roaming the streets with knives and selling drugs and breaking into cars and everything else," he said.
"Whereas it couldn’t be further from the truth. We all know these are children who just want to go to school and make friends and lead a normal life – the advantages that the rest of us have."
Cllr Hebden pointed to a response to a planned care home in his own Hatfield East division - suggesting it was not based on planning issues and not backed by evidence. And he said: "I think there is a big duty amongst us and our colleagues in districts and boroughs to put these daft gossiping and rumour-mongering to bed really."
The need to go through the planning process does seem excessive when the units involved are so small. A family with four children could buy one of these houses and we wouldn't expect residents to be invited to object to that.
So well done to Peter Hebden for taking on prejudice against children in care.
2 comments:
Yes, well done Cllr Hebden. When our political opponents say and do the Right Thing, they should be congratulated - particularly if what they do is not obviously in their own short-term interests.
Thank you, Anon. I cringe at the way anti-Tory Twitter responds to people who say they voted Leave but have since changed their mind.
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