Councillors have approved plans to make £2 million of cuts to Medway’s Sure Start Centres.

The decision was confirmed at Medway Council’s cabinet on Tuesday at Gun Wharf, where Cllr Andrew Mackness said unprecedented financial pressure had forced the council to reorganise management of the centres and reduce staff by a third.

However he stressed all 19 Medway centres - which provide child care, early education, health advice and family support - would remain open.

“We have to look at how we can continue to meet statutory duties and provide services to children and families but with far less money available,” he said. “We are not changing the offer of free nursery education for 3-4 year-olds and for most two year olds.”

He added: “To keep open all 19 Sure Start Centres we need to bring together management and back office staff, and cut out duplication.

“Consultation has shown the importance of keeping a regular team in every centre and we will do that.”

Medway council leader Alan Jarrett said it was “unfortunate when you reduce staff”, adding: “all the staff have worked very hard; some of them over a considerable period.”

But he said the challenge was to get “as much money as possible to the front line.”

Medway’s Labour Group slammed the decision, and said the all-Tory cabinet had “reverted to their democracy dodging ways” in refusing to allow Labour to address them on the issue.

Councillor Teresa Murray, Medway Labour group’s deputy leader, had written to Cllr Jarrett asking to address the Cabinet on the subject of Sure Start Centres but her request was refused.

She said: “I’m disappointed with Councillor Jarrett’s stance on this. He has a real opportunity to open up the democratic and decision making processes of this Council and he has refused. That tells us everything we need to know about the Tories: they believe that they have a divine right to govern and are not interested in listening to views contrary to theirs.

“In October 2015 we put forward proposals to amend the constitution to allow public speaking at Cabinet meetings – something we would have introduced if we were in power – but the Tories rejected our proposals. They are not interested in hearing from the public, they are not interested in what you or I think and that has been demonstrated in them restricted public speaking at Council meetings.

“The decision to prevent me addressing Cabinet today is just the latest demonstration of democracy dodging and it sums up the Medway Tories.”

Cllr Jarrett responded saying Labour had spoken on the subject at the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee and at the budget meeting, adding: “They’ve had two cracks at it. The cabinet is a business meeting and it’s not somewhere to raise the same old things.”