We told you so

Last week Nottingham City council discussed a report which revealed that there had been an increase in the number of children in care of nearly 20% and that the majority of these are being accommodated in private residential establishments.

This time last year, in the face of opposition from UNISON, staff and ex-clients, including Oscar winning actress Samantha Morton who addressed a rally in Nottingham in March last year, the Council decided to reduce the number of its own children homes.

UNISON Regional Organiser, Peter Savage said, “This is one of those occasions when we can say that we told them so. They now have three children homes empty, they’ve sacked the staff, paid redundancy costs, yet the demand for the service has increased. This is a classic example of short term savings having long term costs in both the Council’s finances and on the people who need the service.”