Councils are being warned against ditching vital children's services in order to prop up other areas of their work in the wake of the local government finance settlement.
Announced as part of the funding settlement for councils, the early intervention grant is replacing 22 grants, which after in-year cuts total £2,483m for 2010/11. There will be a reduction of 10.9 per cent with the new grant worth £2,212m for 2011/12, which will not be ringfenced.
Concerns have been raised that local political parties, especially in those authorities with local elections in May, could use the grant to prop up services that are politically sensitive in their area, ranging from potholes to bin collections.
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