South Lanarkshire Labour comments on cuts to school crossing patrollers

Davie McLachlan, Leader of the Labour Group of councillors on South Lanarkshire Council, has responded to the decision to cut 22 school crossing patrollers.

Councillor Davie McLachlan

Councillor Davie McLachlan

“Last year due to a further cut in South Lanarkshire Councils budget some hard decisions had to be made. These decisions, in February, were passed at the full council meeting after months of negotiations by both the Labour Administration and the SNP opposition. The decision to remove 22 crossing patrols were part of this wider budget process.

Following this budget decision and after listening to our constituents the Labour Administration realised there was a lot of concern from the public. Therefore we asked the appropriate officers of the council to carry out a further review to make sure it was the correct decision. We understand the officers went back and looked at the proposed locations and did further analysis of traffic levels etc. 

In May the SNP won the election and formed the Administration of the Council. The decision to continue with the removal of School Crossing Patrols lies firmly in the hands of the SNP leadership who have clearly allowed this cut to be continued after the review has concluded. 

We recognise that there is still a great amount of concern being expressed by the parents and carers about the safety of their children walking to school. We are disappointed that the review and the leader of the council have not listened to the concerns like the Labour Party did and allowed this cut to go ahead as planned. Our councillors will continue to work with our constituents and officers to make sure the safety of South Lanarkshire’s children is paramount.

Posted by HLSLabour

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