This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Conservative cuts to councils have resulted in the funding for Sure Start – once a flagship scheme to support children in the early years – being halved over eight years, it has been revealed.

Figures in a National Audit Office report show a £763m slump since the coalition government was first elected in 2010, while funding for services for young people has fallen by £855m.

The reductions have followed a massive squeeze on council budgets imposed by central government as a result of austerity.

The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said the figures showed that parents and children were paying the price of “neglect of early-year education services”.

“The government should have used the spring statement last week to tackle the crisis they have created but yet again they failed to do so,” she said after highlighting the data.

The children’s commissioner, Anne Longfield, said local authority funding pressures were resulting in more and more reductions to “vital preventative services” offered by Sure Start centres.



“I have long argued for Sure Starts to develop into wider family hubs that offer support for children and their families and will continue to make the case to the Treasury that support for these services will make huge economic sense in the long term,” she said.

Pressed on the issue by the shadow early years minister, Tracy Brabin, Damian Hinds – the education secretary – stressed the “importance of early years in terms of child development and social mobility and narrowing the gap” and said that more money was being put into the area, including through childcare.

He is likely to be challenged on Wednesday when he appears in front of the education select committee for an accountability hearing.

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Local authorities insisted that they had called on ministers to properly fund services that could change children’s life chances.

Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, said: “Rising demand and reductions in funding mean children’s services now face a funding gap of around £2bn in just two years’ time.

“Councils have worked hard to protect children’s services budgets and find new ways to help children and families but there is only so much they can do. Our children should get the best, not just get by.

“We need the government to fully fund children’s services, including reversing the cuts to early intervention funding to local councils. Without this, councils are finding it increasingly difficult to invest in early help services, such as children’s centres and family support, that provide long-lasting benefits to children and their families.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Councils will receive more than £200 billion for local services, including children and young people services, up to 2019-20, with over £9bn being spent on children and young people services in 2016-17.

“We believe it is up to local councils to decide how to organise and commission services in their areas. They are best placed to understand local needs and how best to meet them, whether using children’s centre buildings, family hubs or delivering services through another model.”