Labour in Leeds

The Leader of the Labour Group in Leeds, Councillor Keith Wakefield has hit out today at the Council’s plan to remove funding from East Leeds Family Learning Centre in Seacroft and urged the authority to think again. 

The Tory/Lib Dem administration running the Council recently decided to withdraw over £6m of funding that was set aside for improvements to the centre on Brooklands View in Seacroft. The money has been placed in a contingency fund to be used in case of emergency. 

Councillor Wakefield has hit out at this decision as it means that adult classes are no longer taking place at the centre, which help people living in this very disadvantaged part of the city to find jobs.   

Councillor Keith Wakefield (Leader of Leeds Labour Group) said: “I am disgusted that this funding has been removed from East Leeds Family Learning Centre.  This centre provides a vital service to people living in this area.  We should be increasing the range of services offered by the centre, not cutting them. 

“This is one of the most deprived parts of the city with very high level of unemployment and lots of families on benefits.  The courses offered by the centre have given a lot of people the skills they need to find a job.  Something they may have struggled to do had these courses not taken place. 

“Councillor Richard Brett has claimed that the Tory/Lib Dem administration treat all parts of the city equally.  Decisions like this one make it even harder to have any faith in these claims.  “It is disgraceful that the people living in this area have to lose out because the Tories and Lib Dems who are running the Council cannot balance their budgets.” 

Councillor Graham Hyde (Labour, Killingbeck & Seacroft Ward) said: “The centre has helped many people to get the qualifications and skills they need to find a job.  Many of the staff working at Tesco received training at East Leeds Family Learning Centre which helped them get their  jobs. 

Unfortunately there are many other people in East Leeds who need the kind of training offered at the centre.  This decision means they will have to travel to another part of the city to access it, something that is simply not an option for many people living in this area.