Michael Weeks, the Shadow Minister for Community, Culture and Sport, has berated the Bermuda Government for its “across-the-board cuts” to services that struggling families depend on.

Mr Weeks described the budget cuts outlined by Patricia Gordon-Pamplin as an “affront to the ordinary man and woman”.

He slammed the “savage” cuts to the Mirrors Programme, after-school programmes, foster-care services and Child and Family Services, and accused the Government of “not valuing the development of our young people”.

The Progressive Labour Party Member of Parliament said: “The OBA’s mindset is to sacrifice the positive impact that these kinds of projects provide.

“We need to put a face on some of these cuts because they will do more harm or stress to already struggling families.

“Most of these programmes are oversubscribed already, so why these cuts?”

Mr Weeks told the House that he believed that sports development projects had been “decimated” by the One Bermuda Alliance at a time when they were needed most.

“Sports community fields have been cut by a whopping $31,000,” he added.

“That’s 38 per cent. But it does not say which fields are going to be affected by this lack of funding.

“Does this mean that the fields are not going to be cut or maintained?

“It’s important we know which clubs are affected by these cuts.

“These cuts are insensitive and out of step with the real problems that are faced in Bermuda.

“These are the kind of cuts that will demoralise the staff and community workers, and have an adverse impact on everyone.”

The shadow minister took special exception to the $204,000 in cuts to the Happy Valley Child Care Centre.

He urged the Government to reconsider the cuts to community projects on the “front line” of dealing with Bermuda’s most pressing social issues.

Branding budget reductions to Child and Family Services “callous”, Mr Weeks claimed that the OBA was setting up departments and programmes to fail by slashing their funding.

Wayne Scott, the former Minister for Community, Culture and Sport, defended the budget cuts and maintained that the community services would still be available for those who needed them.

“We still have these vital programmes while also being responsible with the public purse,” he said.

“When we start to look at the programmes that we are doing, we are still providing the service that is so necessary to our residents.”