A LEADING Worcestershire councillor has spoken of his anguish about overseeing cuts to children's centres - admitting he finds it "really difficult".

Councillor John Smith, a long-standing member of County Hall's Conservative leadership, says the current painstaking decisions are "not what a lot of us" went into politics for.

But he also says concerned parents can rest assured the money going towards children's centres will focus increasingly on those "most in need" despite the change.

As the Worcester News first revealed in May, funding for 32 centres is expected to drop by a third from £4.5 million to £3 million this October.

Council bosses say no centres will close, but services face reductions in more than half the 32 sites, with the changes in 18 deemed so 'significant' that consultation is needed.

Councillor Smith, the cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: "There are some services now that are 'nice to have', but with the financial state we're in we won't be able to do them anymore.

"But we are crystal clear that no centres will close, and we will make sure the investments we do make reach those most in need.

"The financial envelope is shrinking all the time, we've saved £100 million over the last four years and have got approximately £100 million to save over the next four years.

"We've done the 'easy bit' - it's not what a lot of us elected members came into it to do, it's really difficult for us."

We revealed last week how the implementation dates could be pushed back two months to December due to the complexities of the changes.

But bosses at County Hall have since stressed that the funding reductions will still kick in from October, with any 'delay' largely dependent on if opposition councillors call it in for extra scrutiny.

Each decision will also be made on a centre-by-centre basis, meaning some takeover leases are likely to be ready at different times during the autumn.

A spokesman for the county council yesterday stressed that families may start to see some changes inside children centres "from now", due to service providers preparing early for the upcoming funding reductions.

A spokesman said: "We'll start the transition work as soon as the consultation is finished and a decision is made, but there are legal processes to carry out so changeovers will happen from the 1st October rather than by the 1st October

"We will be working with providers to keep service users updated and informed as and when we can."