PREVIOUS correspondents have set out so clearly the vital work that the children’s centres do for young families.

If my memory serves me correctly youth centres have already suffered cuts – and now this. The early years from birth to school age are difficult and often very stressful: help can make the whole difference.

The staff in children’s centres are experienced and it is simply not realistic to think that they can be replaced on an ad hoc basis with volunteers.

In the end we all, from the oldest downwards, depend on how well our young grow up. To close all these centres would be both tragic and short-sighted and would likely not prove to be money-saving. We urge the county council to reconsider.

SHIRLEY TROTT
Lucerne Road, Oxford