Safety of Norfolk children in question (Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats)

Norfolk County Council Liberal Democrats <info@norfolkcclibdems.org.uk>

Safety of Norfolk children in question

June 4, 2007 12:00 AM

Norfolk Lib Dems raise concerns about school crossing patrols

A local councillor concerned about the safety of Norfolk's school children today criticised plans to save money by not filling local school crossing patrol vacancies. Cllr Mervyn Scutter, who is the Lib Dem spokesperson for Children's Services at Norfolk County Council, was alarmed to read in a recent Council report that over the next year the Council hoped to make £21,000 of savings by not replacing missing school crossing patrols.

Mr Scutter said:

"It is true that in recent times Children's Services has run with a number of unfilled vacancies as a deliberate policy to save money. If the same policy is being used in relation to school crossing patrols, as seems to be the case from what I have heard today, then the Administration is taking risks with children's safety in order to save a relatively small sum of money. We should be doing all we can to fill these vacancies and make walking to school as safe as possible for these children."

Mr Scutter was responding to the recent revelation that a total of ten schools around the County that have been identified as requiring school crossing patrols do not currently have one in place. A number of these vacancies have been unfilled for more than a year.

One of these vacancies is in the patch of fellow Lib Dem councillor, Mr Fran Pitt-Pladdy. Cllr Pitt-Pladdy, who is the local county councillor responsible for Harleston Primary School, has been helping a group of concerned parents asking for action to be taken to improve school road safety. In the absence of a school crossing patrol, local parents and governors would like to see safety improvement works carried out on local roads. But, despite hearing promises from the County Council that various measures - including new and visible signage - would be put in place by November last year, Mr Pitt-Pladdy reports that this work has not been undertaken, even though repeated requests have been made. Ironically, parents and pupils recently at Harleston Primary School have recently received an award for increasing the number of pupils that walk to school by 10% over a period of two years. Mr Pitt-Pladdy fears that this good work will be undone unless further action is taken to make their journey less dangerous.

Mr Pitt-Pladdy said:

"The fact that this work has not been done means that parents and children's lives are being put at risk. If pupils and parents are doing their bit to reduce car usage by walking to school, the least the Council can do is to help them by providing a safe environment for pedestrians."