DEVON County Council has revealed the summary of its children's centre consultation meeting for West Devon on Monday, April 28. The county council has begun public consultation on proposals to rethink the way children centre services are delivered across Devon. A proposal to re-tender children's centre contracts based on Devon's eight district and city council boundaries aims to help reduce management and administration cost, while protecting local services targeting those most in need and in rural communities. The consultation has been set up in the wake of more cost cutting from the county council. Over the last five years, the budget for the county's children centre services has been reduced by £1.5-million, around 15% of its total. In the next three years, the £8.6-million currently being spent on the service is to reduce again, by a further 15% – £1.2-million. On April 28, representatives from Devon County Council were joined at the Ockment Centre by staff from West Devon's children centres, parents and other stakeholders interested in hearing about the proposals. In principle, those at the meeting had little opposition to West Devon having one single children's centre contract for the borough's three centres, as Okehampton, Hatherleigh and Tavistock's centres are already all run by Barnardo's. People in attendance were keen to keep the centres where they currently are, as the issues of access, a sense of belonging, and the rurality of the area making travelling difficult for families were raised. Visitors raised the issue of consistency, and how having a permanent centre can provide a sense of stability and belonging for parents who may otherwise be hesitant to attend outreach programmes at other venues. People also questioned whether outreach sessions at village halls, community centres and other venues would actually save the council money once management fees, venue hire, petrol and other costs are taken into account. There will be a further consultation meeting for parents of children attending West Devon's centres in the Ockment Centre, Okehampton on Monday, May 19 from 1.30pm to 3pm. Parents and carers are welcome to drop into the session at any time to ask questions and find out more about the proposals. Full details of the proposals and consultation events can be found online on the website at http://www.devon.gov.uk/toughchoices">www.devon.gov.uk/toughchoices with the consultation set to end by June 6. A final recommendation on the future of the service will be considered by the county council's cabinet on July 9.