The new Mayor of Watford says it is "dreadful" that funding has been withdrawn once again from a respite centre.

The Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group Board agreed yesterday to to withdraw the necessary £600,000 a year funding for Nascot Lawn in Watford.

Read More: Nascot Lawn funding is withdrawn once again

The centre provides respite care for children and young people with complex health needs and learning disabilities from across Hertfordshire.

Mr Taylor said: "In any decent society families with children that have severe mental and physical disabilities should be supported.

"It’s dreadful that families are still being put through this uncertainty by the CCG. The fundamental problem here is that these services are not being adequately funded, which is completely unacceptable."

His views were echoed by Liberal Democrat county councillors.

Cllr Mark Watkin expressed his dismay at the decision to cut funding for without reviewing needs of the families.

He said: “During the meeting a number of the board members expressed their sympathy for the plight of these children, yet when the moment came for them to support these words with action, they remained mute.

"It was shameful! They have been warned by the county council’s health scrutiny committee that if they don’t improve their engagement with parents, their decision will be referred to the Secretary of State. It looks like they have a long way to go.”

CCG chief executive Kathryn Magson said the plans reflected the acceptance that respite care was the statutory responsibility of Hertfordshire County Council and would ensure all children had access to care that was equitable across the county, as well as cutting costs for the CCG.

She said: “People often say this is all about saving money. We have never hidden the fact that the original discussion came about from a financial perspective.

“We have been through a very difficult year and that has driven some difficult decisions. We take the decision to provide the best quality care, but within a fixed financial envelope.

“My responsibility is to balance the books and we have to make decisions based on all these factors.”