A safety expert from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has voiced strong concerns over the potential removal of school crossing patrols across North Ayrshire.
North Ayrshire Council have outlined various proposals for cuts as they attempt to balance the books ahead of the forthcoming budget in February.
The removal of all school crossing patrol officers is to be considered, with a budget saving amounting to £250,699, which supports 48 posts.
Caitlin Taylor, road safety expert for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "We believe these patrols play a critical role in ensuring the safety of children as they navigate busy roads, particularly during peak school hours.
"Although there is no legal requirement to provide school crossing patrols, removing them could increase the risk of incidences, especially for younger children who may lack the judgment to safely cross roads without supervision.
"School crossing patrols are invaluable in incident prevention. The combination of high traffic volumes and the unpredictable behaviour of children makes their presence crucial."
North Coast Conservative councillor Tom Marshall said: "Children crossing a main road without assistance, and possibly as young as four years old at its extreme, is totally unacceptable.
"Given that school crossing patrols are on the minimum wage, and provide a very important service for the safety of school children, it is a retrograde step to remove crossing patrols.
"If there is scope to save money on crossing patrols it should be in an area where there is traffic light crossings, but if there are no means of safely crossing the road, they should not be removing these school crossing patrols. There is no argument over that."
Council leader Marie Burns was keen to re-iterate at last week's North Ayrshire Council meeting that the proposed cuts which have gone out to consultation with the community are only options at the current stage.
She said: “It is important to stress that no decisions have yet been taken and nothing will be decided until all councillors meet next year to set the budget.
“Council officers have drawn up a series of areas in which we will engage with residents and seek their views.
"This will help inform future service provision and the setting of the council’s budget in February 2025.
“First and foremost in our minds throughout this process will be our commitment to protect and support our communities across North Ayrshire to the very best of our ability."
A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “For next year, we expect to have a budget gap of at least £16million. This requires us to make significant savings. Unfortunately, that means there will be very difficult choices ahead.
“It’s important to stress that no decisions have yet been taken on any savings. We are now engaging with communities and would urge them to let us know their thoughts on the services we provide.
“Over the coming weeks, council officers will meet with community groups and stakeholders to gather their views on how any changes might impact them.
“In addition, residents and groups are encouraged to take part in online surveys on a range of areas – including school crossing patrollers - which can be found at www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/Budget2025
“Paper copies of these surveys will be available in local libraries and KA Leisure facilities. Alternatively, residents can call the council’s contact centre on 01294 310000 and the surveys can be filled in over the phone. The contact centre is open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4.45pm and Friday from 9am to 4.30pm.
“The feedback received will help inform councillors when they meet to set the budget in February 2025.”
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