Fears grow over Sure Start, as 124 children's centres close

The DfE said that this showed that six centres have closed and that the reduction in numbers for the others was due to the merger of two or more centres.

While the Government has said it is committed to Sure Start and is adamant that there is enough money in the system through the early intervention grant to keep a network of centres open, there is growing concern about the number of children’s centres at risk of closure.

Last month, shadow children’s minister Sharon Hodgson obtained figures from Freedom of Information requests to local authorities, which revealed that 47 centres have either been closed or are earmarked for closure within the next year.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Sunday Mirror has revealed that 250 centres are set for closure and that nine out of ten face cuts to their budgets next year.

The DfE figures show that 124 centres have closed in the past 18 months. On 8 September there were 3,507 children’s centres, down from previous official figures which showed that there were 3,631 centres in April 2010.

Answering a question in Parliament, Lord Hill said, ‘It is for local authorities to determine the most effective arrangements in their areas. The department’s discussions over recent weeks have revealed that many are making sensible changes in order to ensure greater efficiency through reorganisations including mergers of two or more centres and the clustering of several centres under one management team.’