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"No cuts to school crossing patrollers in Portsmouth"

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Donna Jones, said there is "absolutely no prospect of any school crossing patrol person in Portsmouth losing their job".

The comment comes following the publication of the proposed 2016-17 budget, which will be decided on Tuesday 8 December at the full council meeting.

The proposal includes a £135,000 saving for school crossing patrols but this saving is not from cutting posts. The saving will be made by asking schools to jointly fund school crossing patrols.

Currently 100% of their salary is paid for from the central council budget in Portsmouth. However, in many councils across the UK schools contribute or pay entirely the cost school crossing patrollers.

Cllr Donna Jones, said: "I am going to be speaking to head teachers in the city to ask them to contribute towards the costs from their dedicated budget. Schools' budgets have been protected and it was announced last week that they will get an additional £10 billion nationally between now and 2020. Our council budget has been reduced by over 40% which is why we are now asking for a contribution."

"I have campaigned long and hard for school crossing patrols over the years and there is absolutely no prospect of us cutting any posts. We are the most densely populated city outside of London and they do a very valuable job to keep traffic flowing and children safe."

You can watch the full council meeting online from 2pm on Tuesday 8 December. Visit www.portsmouth.gov.uk for more information.

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