Attack over child centre funding

Ministers have accused Tories of not supporting Sure Start centres.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls hailed the 2,906 Sure Start children’s centres opened by the end of March - 400 ahead of schedule - as proof that Labour was putting families first.

The number of Children’s Centres in Rochdale has seen a five-fold increase in just two years – increasing from just three in 2006 to 15 today.

Commenting Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate, Simon Danczuk, said that over 13,000 children in Rochdale now had access to a range of Sure Start services.

"While ten years ago there were no Children's Centres, today there are 15 in Rochdale offering services to some 13,254 children under five,” he said. “I know from speaking to parents across Rochdale and talking to mothers at the Children’s Centre based at Castlemere Community Centre the big difference it has made to so many families in our area.

"As every parent knows, the earliest years of a child's life are critical to their future development. It's also a time when parents need advice and support. That’s why this Labour Government has made investing in Sure Start, high quality childcare and nursery education a big priority. We’ve introduced an entitlement to a free nursery place for every three and four year old – and thousands of children in Rochdale are today benefiting.”

Sure Start can vary locally but generally services include outreach and home visiting, family support and good quality play, learning and childcare facilities.

Mr Balls said the Government now planned to put in tax credit advisers, to ensure parents received the wage top-up and support towards childcare costs.

But Mr Balls said the Tories would axe the outreach workers and cut £200million per year from the Sure Start budget, employing more health visitors instead.

However, Mr Balls said spending is only £79 million per year on outreach workers - which will mean a further £121 million of cuts to Sure Start each year .

The Conservatives insisted they wanted the billions pumped into the programme to be better spent.

Date article online: 23/04/2008