Labour to continue funding lollipop men and women in Walsall

Up to 39 schools faced losing their warden unless they paid for them themselves under Walsall Council plans to save £85,000.

But the new controlling Labour group is to continue funding all lollipop men and women amid fears a child could be seriously injured or even killed.

The u-turn comes after the initial cost-cutting measure had been put forward by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition. The change in stance has been welcomed by parents, schools and governors.

See also: Walsall cuts to be 'even worse than feared'.

Jemma Selman has two children Mitchell, aged three, and Dylen, nine, who attend Moorcroft Wood nursery and junior schools in Bull Lane, Moxley.

The 31 year old, of Charnwood Close, said: "It is brilliant, we couldn't have wished for anything better, it helps not only the parents but gives the teachers and headteachers piece of mind.

"It doesn't bear thinking about without a warden, it is a very, very busy road. Without a crossing warden there would be a fatality."

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Vice-chairman of governors at Moorcroft Wood, Councillor Chris Bott, said it would be a big relief to families.

"I had a lot of parents contact me and come and see me, they were really upset," she said.

"Safety would have been a real concern. I am glad they are keeping a crossing warden."

Are lollipop men and women vital, or are they jobs that could be cut by the council in order to save money? Leave your comments below.

Headteacher Sarah Milner, of Lower Farm School in Bloxwich, also backed the move to continue funding.

"It is about the safety of children getting to school," she said. "At the end of primary school we want the children to develop their own independence.

"I would not have been happy doing that without the patrol crossing being there. It is part of school life seeing the lollipop woman or man. I think it is a service the council should provide as it is outside the school gates.

"We would have tried to find the money but it would have been difficult. There is lots of other things and other needs."

The decision to continue the full service for junior, infant and primary schools is due to be rubber stamped by the decision-making Cabinet next week. It followed a consultation in which almost 800 people took part in.

Under the original plans, a lollipop man or woman based near a pedestrian, pelican or zebra crossing would no longer be funded by the council but the remaining 44 patrols would still have been paid for by the authority.

Schools would have averaged spending between £2,000 and £3,000 a year if hit with the cost themselves.

Regeneration chief, Councillor Mohammad Nazir, said: "From the feedback there was a clear lack of support for the proposal from headteachers, parents and the general public.

"The council needs to make £85 million worth of savings over the next four years and there are difficult decisions to be made but we have to consider carefully where these savings come from and take into account the views of service users in helping us reach those decisions."

In total, 796 responses were received from parents, 30 from headteachers, 10 online responses, 14 calls, three emails from councillors and a number of letters.

Council leader Sean Coughlan objected to the plans at the time they were announced.

"We opposed the savings that the previous administration wanted to do," he said.

"Clearly, they are on busy, main roads, there is lots of traffic around and we need to make sure children can get to our schools safely."

Council bosses at the time of proposing the reduced funding said Government cuts were forcing them to make difficult decisions.

They insisted it was to only apply in locations manned by a warden and already have other crossing facilities in place.

It was part of proposals to cut budgets and staff to help save the cash-strapped council £21 million this financial year.

It emerged yesterday the authority paid out almost £4.5m in redundancy payouts to workers over a 12 months period.

A total of 230 former employees at the local authority received the cash – and they got over a million more than was given to staff in the previous year – despite fewer workers taking redundancy.