There are increasing pressures on the budget in Croydon and it is disappointing that there will be an end to grant funding for free swimming sessions for those aged under 16.
Despite this, the council's prudent financial planning means that it can continue the scheme - for the time being at least - despite the decision of central government to pull the plug on the grant.
With the summer holidays about to start the news would otherwise have come at a very bad time for Croydon's young people.
The council believes it is highly unlikely that this grant will be restored - especially given that the coalition government is seeking to find more and more ways of reducing its spending.
This means that although the free sessions should be able to be retained for the rest of the financial year, it is unlikely they will continue beyond March 2011.
Free swimming for over 60s is not currently affected by the announcement as the council was already providing this though it leisure provision.
However, the impact of the removal of this grant funding is now being reviewed and a decision will have to be taken in the next few months about whether or not the council will be able to afford to keep these in place.
Councillor Sara Bashford, cabinet member for customer services, culture and sport, said: "We have to be honest that in this climate of government funding cuts there are going to be times when things that people value have to be withdrawn - that may often be beyond the council's direct control.
"However I'm delighted to say that in this case we have been very prudent with the grant that government have given us. This means that we have been able to retain these free sessions in the short term as we know that they provide an enormous benefit to thousands of people."
Please do contact us with any issues or concerns you may have. We answer all our constituents' correspondence and value your comments. If you want your concern addressed by your local team, please follow the link above.
