Policy and Politics
Charity shortfalls could scupper Sure Start plan
The Government's plans to ask charities and independent organisations to run Sure Start children's centres could fall flat if local authorities make drastic cuts to their funding, experts from the voluntary sector have warned.
Before the general election, David Cameron said that independent organisations with a proven track record in parenting interventions, including 4Children, Home-Start and Lifeline, would be invited by the Conservatives to run children's centres (News, 21 January).
However, Kay Bews, chief executive of Home-Start, a family support charity for parents of young children, has said that some of the 340 local Home-Start services, which exist as small, independent charities, face 'dire financial circumstances'.
She said that there has been a significant increase in the number of local Home-Start charities that are experiencing cuts or are expecting cuts to their funding next year.
Ms Bews said, 'It's a very mixed picture. Some Home-Starts are facing in-year cuts, while others have been told by their local authorities not to expect any money next year. Where the cuts are happening, they are devastating. The outcome will be fewer families receiving support. This year we are seeing a lot more local schemes who don't know what is going to happen next year.'
Figures published two weeks ago by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) showed that 36 per cent of charities have no cash reserves and that drastic cuts could result in them going bust.
Ms Bews added that, given the right funding, Home-Start could operate children's centres in some areas.
She said, 'Home-Start is already very involved in the leadership of some children's centres and could do an excellent job of managing children's centres in areas where Home-Start is already heavily involved. Where schemes don't already have that relationship with children's centres, it would obviously take a lot longer.'
