MP blasts Sure Start reforms at Daycare Trust conference

She made her comments at the Daycare Trust annual conference in London following children's minister Sarah Teather's announcement that ministers will end the requirement for children's centres in the 30 per cent most disadvantaged areas to provide 40 hours of full daycare a week, made at the same event.

"This sounds crazy, when [deprived] areas are those where children's centres are often the only provider of good-quality care," said Hodgson. "If they start reducing the hours they can provide, how can parents, who are being told to get out and get jobs take them if they can't have a guarantee that centres will be open for the whole of the working day?"

Hodgson also criticised Teather's announcement that centres would no longer be required to employ people with both Qualified Teacher and Early Years Professional status.

She warned the decision could mean centres that were struggling with funding would make staff redundant, and that the standard of childcare would be lowered. She also said the change would impact on people studying for early years qualifications, putting into doubt whether such investment of their time had any worth.

"How Sarah Teather, who I do believe does care about children, can stomach this attack and defend it is beyond my understanding," she said.

Hodgson further challenged the decision to bring the Children's Workforce Development Council back into government, which was also announced by Teather at the event.

"The reasons we made [CWDC a non-departmental public body] was to improve skills and capabilities across the children's workforce better than the government could," said Hodgson. "To return it to the department with no guarantee or system of funding – the future of professional development within the early years sector looks very much uncertain."

The minister, who told the audience how she had formerly registered as a child minder with Gateshead Council and that her new brief was her "passion", said the future of the centres was her "gravest concern".

"Sorting the damage to children's centres will be our [Labour's] first priority when we're back in Number 10," she pledged.