During an opposition day debate in the House of Commons, Burnham said funding for children’s centres was being slashed, due to 22 per cent worth of cuts and an end to their ringfenced funding.
But his motion urging the government to reconsider removing the ringfenced funding was defeated by 312 votes to 217.
He told MPs that the protection of ringfenced funding was crucial, as the cut to councils’ early intervention grant for the current financial year "represents a real-terms cut of 22.4 per cent".
Children’s centre services are already being affected, he said. Six children’s centres in Derby are at risk of closure and he criticised the creation of so-called "hub and spoke" models by other councils.
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