Figures reveal 31 SureStart centres have closed under Coalition Government

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Local Government and also in Communities, Housing

Some 31 SureStart centres for young children have closed since last year's general election, according to figures released under freedom of information legislation.

And the figures obtained by the New Statesman magazine suggest that less well-off areas have been hardest hit by the closures.

The network of 3,600 SureStart centres across England was a flagship initiative of the former Labour administration, providing support and advice for parents of pre-school children in the hope of improving their life-chances.

During last year's election campaign, David Cameron dismissed as "a disgrace" claims by Gordon Brown that a Conservative government would shut down SureStart centres. Earlier this year, the Prime Minister told the House of Commons that the centres "do not need to close" as part of the Government's cost-cutting drive.

Freedom of Information requests by the New Statesman to the Department for Education found that 31 centres have closed since May 2010, including seven in Redbridge, five in Greenwich, four in Wandsworth and two in Hackney - all London boroughs.

After the coalition Government came to power, the budget for SureStart was merged into a new early intervention grant, which also includes funding for programmes related to teenage pregnancy, mental health and youth crime. In total, these programmes received almost £2.5 billion in 2010/11 but the new grant is worth just over £2.2 billion this year.

According to the New Statesman, funding for SureStart and related programmes is being cut by an average of £50 a child this year, but some of the poorest areas - including Tower Hamlets and Hackney in London and Knowsley in Merseyside - are facing cuts of £100 a child, while wealthier areas such as Richmond in south London, Buckinghamshire and Surrey will see cuts of just £30 per child.

Labour spokeswoman for women and equality Yvette Cooper said: "This is outrageous. David Cameron and education ministers promised us they were protecting SureStart. But now we know that is rubbish.

"The 20% cut they imposed on the budget which funds SureStart is hitting services hard, and they are taking away help for families at the most important time in a child's life.

"SureStart is one of the best things the Labour government introduced - supporting young families at the very beginning of a child's life so they feel the benefits for decades to come.

"So much for ministers' rhetoric about early intervention. These facts show a complete betrayal of David Cameron's promise, and a betrayal of parents and toddlers who depend on SureStart to help their family get on."

A Department for Education spokesman said: "Local authorities are best placed to decide how to secure sufficient provision of SureStart Children's Centres to meet local need.

"Through the Early Intervention Grant, we have ensured local authorities have enough money to retain a network of children's centres, to protect and expand free early education and childcare for two-year-olds and short breaks for disabled children.

"We want taxpayers' money to be targeted at the children, young people and families who need it most."

Anne Longfield, chief executive of the charity 4Children, said: "4Children's own research, carried out earlier this year, highlighted the risk of approximately 250 Children's Centre closures.

"We had hoped that by raising the alarm we could avert this from becoming a reality.

"Today's figures show that services remain at very real risk and we call again on local authorities to stretch every sinew to keep centres open."