Children's centres funding cut by £400m in three years

Latest Department for Education (DfE) statistics detailing how much local authorities plan to spend in different areas of children’s services, reveal that councils have earmarked a total of £985.3m for Sure Start children’s centres and early years services in 2014/15.

That compares with £1,093.2m last year, a drop of £107.9m in 12 months, and a drop of £413.2m from the £1,398.5m that was forecast to be spent in 2011/12.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said that given the government has identified improving early outcomes and supporting families, particularly those most in need, as policy priorities, it is “highly concerning” that funding for children’s centres is continuing to decline.

“Children’s centres remain an important source of early years care, and provide vital information, support and guidance to parents and carers,” he said.

“However, sustained funding cuts have meant that the services available in many local communities are extremely limited, and a growing number of centres are struggling to stay afloat.

“The government cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this situation. It cannot continue to extol the value of children’s centres while depriving them of the funding needed to deliver quality services.

“It’s clear that urgent action must be taken to ensure that vulnerable families are able to access the support they need.”