COUNCILLORS refused to accept cuts to the Serennu Centre for disabled children this evening.

Newport City Council’s cabinet proposed saving £24,000 from its 2015/16 budget by moving its disabled children’s team from the centre in Rogerstone to the Civic Centre.

But a scrutiny committee of councillors tasked with reviewing the proposals said they were not comfortable with the idea.

The centre - which opened in 2011 following years of Argus-backed campaigning and fundraising - provides therapies and support for thousands of disabled children and their families from Newport, much of Torfaen, and south Monmouthshire, in 21st Century facilities, under one roof.

The proposal to relocate the team will now be reconsidered before budget proposals go before the full council on February 9 – but no final decision has yet been made, so it could still go ahead.

Speaking at the meeting, Rogerstone’s Sally Mlewa said the savings would be “pocket money” compared to the council’s overall budget.

She said: “When we went for consultation to the public, the very thing they told us not to cut was this sort of thing. People with disabled children fight to get every piece of help they need. They are not going to give up easily.”

The centre at the moment was a model of excellence, she said. “I don’t want it to do just ‘a good job’. I want it to be the very best it can be.”

Malpas representative Jane Mudd said the proposed cut would affect staff and families who use the centre, and also harm the reputation of the council itself. She urged councillors present: “Why don’t we just collectively say we don’t support it?”

Stow Hill councillor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi said: “It’s a very important centre for a vulnerable section of the community. I also think [the proposed cut] goes against the spirit of collaborative working with other organisations.”

Torfaen County Borough Council has also proposed cuts affecting the centre.

Speaking to the Argus previously, Dr Sabine Maguire, senior lecturer in child health at the Institute of Primary Care and Public Health at Cardiff University, and a Sparkle Appeal trustee, said the councils' proposals are "a betrayal of the model the Welsh Government invested in and the public of Gwent supported.”

But Mike Nicholson, strategic director with the council, defended the proposal yesterday. He said cabinet members as well as Serennu staff thought it was unfair the council had to pay rent to Aneurin Bevan Health Board for their premises when social services were not charged in other areas, and their presence helped medical teams.

He said negotiations were still ongoing with ABHB to try and overcome the issue, so staff could potentially stay at Serennu. “We don’t think it’s appropriate we should be paying rent”, he added.

But he said if the cuts went ahead, council staff would still meet families at the centre and work with other organisations, and said the effect on service users would not be severe.