THE woman in charge of children's wellbeing at Herefordshire Council has admitted an alternative plan for a city respite centre may not suit all youngsters.

Jo Davidson was speaking during a heated meeting of the council's Health and social care Overview and Scrutiny Committee last week.

The Shirehall meeting was attended by several parents of children at No 1 Ledbury Road which will close next March in favour of a community foster service plan.

The centre offers respite care to children and young adults with complex health needs.

Ms Davidson was asked why the council, along with the clinical commissioning group and Wye Valley NHS Trust, had come up with the fostering idea.

"We have not yet got in place all alternative arrangements and there are areas of Herefordshire with less well-developed foster carer provision," she said.

"There will be some children for who foster carer provision is not appropriate; we accept that.

"There is little more we can say now other than the children's needs are central to all this."

She said the intention throughout the whole process has been to work with families, but parents present at the meeting said they have been left in the dark.

The parents were also left unhappy by HOSC's decision not to scrutinise the No 1 decision until September 30 because, according to chairman Cllr Polly Andrews, August is a "very difficult month" as many people who will attend are on annual leave.

"As a concerned parent this is not good enough," Paul Gilks told the committee from the public gallery.

"Councillors may be away during August but these parents won't. This should be looked at urgently."

Cllr Jonathan Lester, the council's cabinet member for Young People and Children's Wellbeing, said all affected parents have been sent letters setting out "how the council will engage with parents".

The new short breaks service has been developed by the council, Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS

Trust.

The three bodies say No 1 doesn’t fit with the community-based approach it plans to introduce.