Cuts to children’s pedestrian training in Brighton and Hove face backlash.
Fifty youngsters have been critically injured in road accidents in Brighton and Hove over the last five years, councillors were told during a debate over a proposed reduction in road safety training.
According to Community Works spokesperson Mark Strong, a further 100 kid pedestrians were mildly hurt, costing society almost £16 million in total.
Mr Strong contrasted the expense of those children’s injuries with a planned £165,000 reduction in road safety training in Brighton and Hove City Council’s draft budget.
The training is provided at 37 primary schools, although the council reported that 14 schools benefited from the “Safer Streets” program, which established temporary pedestrian zones outside schools during drop-off and pick-up hours.
According to a suggestion in the council’s budget, the child pedestrian training team should be refocused to prioritise the government’s Bikeability program, which is funded by external grants, as well as school crossing patrols.
According to an equity impact study, the city has historically experienced higher casualty rates per 100,000 population than East or West Sussex.
“This reflected population density and transportation conditions, as well as the number of students who could walk to school.
“There have been no child pedestrian fatalities in the city either side of the pandemic years, though the serious casualty rate has increased.”
Nearly 4,500 year 3 youngsters (aged seven and eight) have received instruction over the last three years.
The equality impact assessment also stated that road safety training “may be covered in PSHE (personal, social, health, and economic) education at some schools, either at a high level or in similar detail, without the practical element of the training.”
Mr Strong told the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee:
“In the end, you’re outsourcing the expenses of saving £165,000.”You’re exporting the cost to the NHS and the families of the damaged children, effectively taking that money out of your budgets and placing it on all other budgets.
“And that’s not even looking at the emotional costs to the people who are injured.”Labour
Councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport and municipal infrastructure, stated that it was a difficult decision, but the council was investing in the School Streets initiative.
He stated, “It has to be considered in the context of the financial circumstances we are under, and it is not something we would take lightly.
There are various contexts for this. We are continuing Bikeability training.”
Anne Meadows, a conservative councillor, responded: “I couldn’t understand why you’re prioritising cycling over young children learning and being given the tools they need to navigate our streets, particularly when walking to school.”
After the meeting, Councillor Meadows stated, “Labour should be striving to safeguard children from cuts, but this is a pattern.
“Schools are struggling with smaller budgets, teachers are losing their jobs, and the youngest students are missing out on assistance with walking to school.
“It will only lead to more children being driven to school and more parents feeling this council doesn’t care about children.”
Jacob Taylor, Labour deputy leader of the council, stated that he and Councillor Muten will investigate the remarks made to see if there was another way to continue pedestrian training in schools.
Councillor Alistair McNair, the Conservative party leader, chairs the board of governors at Hollingbury’s Carden Primary School.
He sent a letter with governors, stating that child pedestrian safety training began in 2006 due to rising casualty rates and dealt with approximately 1,600 year 3 students each year.
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