Government funding for Sure Start may be slashed after Budget
Ross Watson
Friday, June 4, 2010
A leaked email to CYP Now has revealed that government funding already allocated for Sure Start children's centres could be reduced after the emergency Budget this month.
The Department for Education contacted all local authorities last week detailing how much funding each would receive from the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant (SSEYCG) for the first financial quarter of 2010/11.
But attached to the letter was a message from Frances Carter, head of grants management for Sure Start.
"You will have seen the announcements made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer about an emergency Budget and the need to reduce public expenditure by £6bn overall in 2010-11," wrote Carter. "The implications of this commitment to specific grants and programmes are subject to decisions by ministers between now and the June Budget. This means the allocations previously notified to you for the year may be revised, and subsequent quarterly payments adjusted to reflect this."
Together for Children told local authorities last week that two early years pilot schemes will be scrapped from July — the Buddying Programme and the 0-7 Partnership pilots. The Buddying Programme was developed to promote better working relationships between school and early years staff. The 0-7 Partnership pilots were developed to help ease the transition for children moving from early years to primary school. Local authorities taking part in the pilots have been advised that any funding they have already committed to the pilots beyond July should be found in the SSEYCG.
Annamarie Hassell, programme director at Together for Children, said that although Sure Start funding is ringfenced, the government can still make cuts to grant programmes.
"It is our understanding that there is no intention from the government to make changes to revenue funding for children's centres," she added. "Where we have seen changes so far has been in additional funding for pilots that are not exclusive to children's centres."
Announcing where the government's £6bn worth of cuts will fall last month, Chancellor George Osborne said funding for Sure Start, schools and 16-19 education would be protected and any savings in these areas would be reinvested back into their overall budgets.
