CONSULTATION on the future of children's centres in the borough is likely to take place in the new year, the council has confirmed.

Parents have raised concerns over the future of the Sure Start centres in the borough after Barnet council confirmed it is expecting a cut in funding in December.

However, the council has recently spent £719,117 on developing new centres at five libraries which could now be slashed under the review.

A statement from the council said £100,000 will be spent in the coming months on improvements to two more sites, adding: “The grant funding enabled us to make good use of under-utilised space within our libraries."

Papers which went before last night's children's services scrutiny panel confirmed “co-location” and giving some centres a “specialism” like domestic violence were among options being considered.

Councillors may also agree to target certain social or ethnic groups or partnering with other authorities to provide the services.

Parents fear the closure of certain centres would force them to spend large sums of money on childcare while they work and lead to a lack of support for those who need it most.