The announcement of the delay without any explanation is not helpful for local authorities currently considering their own plans for children's centres in the light of further spending cuts. Spending on children's centres fell by £200m, from £1.1bn in 2013/14 to £0.9bn in 2014/15, on top of a £100m cut the previous year.
In the coming year, we can expect further cuts by councils. The delay in the consultation does not demonstrate a commitment by the government to the future of children's centres. Local authorities finalising their budgets for 2016/17 will no doubt take note.
This is a massive missed opportunity by the government. Many local authorities have already undertaken their own reviews of children's centres and it would be a good time to learn from these local reviews.
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