Hackney Council's Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission has identified inconsistencies and communication challenges in the consultation process surrounding proposed changes to children's centres, according to a recently published report. The findings stem from a review commissioned by the Mayor of Hackney following a judicial review claim related to a consultation on reconfiguring local children's centres.

The Children Centre Lessons Learned Report, presented to the commission on Monday 15 September 2025, highlights several key areas of concern, including:

  • Inconsistencies in documentation: The report points to discrepancies between consultation documents, cabinet reports, and a summary report from Ernst & Young (EY), creating confusion among stakeholders. The consultation document mentioned 10 opportunities while the EY Summary Report cited 11 opportunities . This misalignment was central to the arguments presented at judicial review.
  • Capacity challenges: Insufficient staff capacity and time allocated to the project increased the risk of errors and oversights.
  • Communication issues: Challenges in communicating with staff at the affected children's centres led to feelings of being uninformed and unsupported. To address these feelings, the report recommends seeking regular feedback from staff to tailor the communications provided and help them feel more informed and supported throughout service review and change projects. It also recommends ensuring a wellbeing support offer is available to staff, which they are well informed of and able to access easily.

The review was commissioned after the council decided to settle by consent following a judicial review claim in June 2024. The outcome of the judicial review was that the council decided to settle by consent following advice from its external legal advisors. The Mayor of Hackney initiated the review to understand the factors that led to the legal challenge and to learn from the process.

The Statement of Reasons cites that The Defendant accepts that its consultation materials were not sufficiently clear as to the reasons why the external consultant's summary report with an 11th opportunity was provided to consultees; the reason the summary report contained an 11th opportunity being the Defendant's view that inclusion of this 11th opportunity was necessary for transparency; though this was not made sufficiently clear to consultees.

According to the report, the council requested that an 11th opportunity be included for transparency, that the closure of all childcare in Children's Centres is an option. However, the information and materials provided as part of the consultation process were not sufficiently clear on why the EY Summary Report was shared and whether the 11th opportunity was actively considered or ruled out.

Feedback from parents and carers indicated that the documentation made available during the consultation period was difficult to understand, making it difficult for them to fully understand how the Council arrived at, and the implications, of the proposals. Feedback from a group of parents and carers indicated that the documentation made available during the consultation period was difficult to make sense of in full when considering the proposals and the supporting evidence base.

The report recommends several steps to improve future consultation processes, including:

  • Engaging independent support to quality assure and review consultation documentation and design.
  • Ensuring sufficient staff capacity and timescale to deliver service change projects.
  • Establishing a steering group at a formative stage of the process.
  • Utilising a steering group in a critical friend capacity to give feedback on the ease of understanding the information provided.
  • Considering engaging existing parent/carer forums, representatives or advocates for service users to help quality assure and review information to feedback on the accessibility of information.
  • Ensuring a wellbeing support offer is available to staff.
  • Providing training on consultation process, design and law for officers whose role may involve them undertaking consultation and engagement activity. A corporate training offer on consultation law and engagement was made available, not specifically linked to this consultation. The report recommends providing training on consultation process, design and law for officers whose role may involve them undertaking consultation and engagement activity.

Councillor Sophie Conway, Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Commission, emphasized the importance of hearing from a wide range of people during consultations. She urged commission members to encourage school leaders, governors, and community organisations to participate in future calls for evidence to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the issues.