CAMPAIGNING parents trying to halt cuts to children's centres across Worcestershire are being given another chance to grill politicians on it this Friday.

The future of 18 different sites will be discussed by a scrutiny panel dedicated to investigating issues affecting young people at County Hall.

As the Worcester News first revealed in June funding for children's centres is set to fall 33 per cent in October.

None of the 32 sites will close, but more than half face losing services after being taken over by schools and childcare organisations in a money-saving tactic.

A second consultation is currently underway about the controversial move, with 675 people signing a petition trying to stop it.

The county council's children and families overview and scrutiny panel has organised a meeting to look at the implications in more detail.

Senior school staff and people working in childcare have also been invited to go along and express views.

Councillor Lynne Duffy, who chairs the panel, said: "It's important the consultation process is as thorough as it can be, so I would invite members of the public to attend this meeting and share their views with us.

"The scrutiny board's function is to gain a full understanding of the views of as many service users as possible on the current proposals."

In recent weeks angry parents have hit out at the cuts, with the Worcestershire Mums Network calling it "a short term saving for massive long-term costs".

The Conservative leadership has pointed to no sites being shut down, and says services at 11 buildings stand to improve, alongside the reductions at other venues.

Councillor John Smith, the cabinet member for health and well-being, said: "It's well known that local authorities have significant financial challenges, which means we will have less money available for these services in the future."

Under the proposals the overall funding package will reduce from £4.5 million a year to £3 million.

An initial consultation attracted more than 2,000 responses, with 60 per cent of people calling for no changes - something Labour politicians have used to criticise the leadership.

Anyone looking to speak at Friday's meeting needs to email scrutiny@worcestershire.gov.uk no later than 9am this Thursday.

The meeting will get underway from 10am on Friday.