A decision to close three Oxfordshire centres for disabled children was being investigated by county councillors today.

The respite centres in Abingdon, Banbury and Henley, which serve 100 children, have been earmarked for closure as part of a £9m social services cuts package agreed last month.

The cuts included the ending of a £500,000 grant to Barnardo's towards the running costs of the Summerfield Resource Centre in Abingdon, Sycamore House in Banbury and the Chilterns Centre in Henley. The charity says the homes will have to close as a result.

Staff help children aged five to 17, and give their parents a much-needed rest.

Today, members of FORCe (Friends of the Resource Centres), were due to lobby members of the council's social and health care scrutiny committee, urging them to ask the Conservative-Liberal Democrat administration to reinstate the grant.

Colin Webster, a spokesman for FORCe, has written to councillors to point out that more money could be available from the Government to keep the centres open.

His son Daniel, eight, who has severe learning difficulties, attends the Summerfield centre.

He said: "We hope the councillors will listen carefully to what we have to say. We're still considering taking legal action against the council, on the basis that parents have not been properly consulted over this.

"We have also arranged to meet Oxfordshire's MPs at Westminster on May 22 to lobby them on the issue."

Parents also plan to remind councillors that closing the centres could cost the council more money in the long term because finding alternative respite care for the children will be difficult and expensive.

Labour county councillors called in the decision to cut social services spending. Any recommendation from the scrutiny committee will be referred back to the executive board.

The leader of the council's Labour group, Brian Hodgson, said: "Surely it is relevant that the Government is going to make more money available for social services in 2003/4.