1,000 kids’ centres get Tory chop

Spending cuts blow to families

UP to 1,000 children’s centres have shut since 2009 – twice as many as the Government admits, a study suggests.

Official data shows the number of Sure Start centres fell by 14% from 3,632 to 3,123 last year.

But Oxford University surveyed local authorities and found the actual drop was closer to 30%.

Sure Start was introduced by Labour in 1998 to offer childcare, early years education and other services for poorer families.

But Tory cuts led to centres being axed or downgraded. The study, for The Sutton Trust charity, warned of a “postcode lottery” as 16 councils were behind more than half of closures.

Founder Sir Peter Lampl said: “It is a serious issue that the services Sure Start centres offer are much more thinly spread than they were a decade ago.

“Thousands of families are missing out on vital support.”

Labour MP Tracy Brabin added: “Every child deserves a fair chance to succeed, which is why the next Labour government will end the Tory cuts and invest £500million a year in Sure Start.”