Pembrokeshire County Council’s cabinet will be asked to set up a task and finish group to look into the closure of adult learning centres throughout the county.

The council’s Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny committee met on Monday. This followed a call in of February’s controversial cabinet decision to close learning centres in Fishguard, Pembroke Dock, Haverfordwest and Tenby by August 2016.

Cabinet members were assured that Learning Pembrokeshire would continue to deliver the same range of courses in other community venues.

Cabinet members were told the closures were because of an £85,000 funding shortfall from the Welsh Government. However, the committee heard that the council itself had cut its adult learning budget by £100,000.

Councillor Jacob Williams called in the decision giving the short timescale for closures and consultation, and the fact that all other options had not been assessed as some of his reasons.

“There is just one pound sign in the whole report [to cabinet]. That is ludicrous,” he said. “What does that say about decision making in County Hall?”

Applause from a packed public gallery followed after he added that closing the learning centres would be “ripping the heart out of the community”.

The committee echoed his concerns saying that cabinet had rubber-stamped the decision without public consultation and without questioning the implications of closing the centres.

Councillor Mike Evans, member for Tenby South, questioned what would happen to the youth service and the library that are situated in the same building as the Tenby learning centre. He asked council officers if there had been any discussion about selling the building in Tenby.

“Capital receipts are the driving force behind this in Tenby. It’s not about service provision,” he said.

Councillor Reg Owens expressed concerns that there would be safeguarding issues, as had happened in the past in Tenby, if adult learning was moved back into school sites.

The committee voted to recommend that cabinet established a task and finish group to look into the financial and social accounting of the decision, as well as the consultation structure.