Barnardo’s urges protection on children’s centre funding

Barnardo’s research into Department for Education spending revel that during the period from 2010/11 to 2014/15, the annual children centres expenditure has decreased from £1.2 billion to approximately £740 million. Barnardo’s have calculated that losses on this scale, over the next five years, could see annual funding for children’s centres decline by an average of £92 million per year.

Jared Khan, Barnardo’s chief executive officer, said: “Cuts to basic early support now will only result in increased costs in the future.  Without the vital support of children centres to the poorest children and families, we are simply neglecting the seeds of more costly problems later in the shape of troubled families, crime, substance abuse and unemployment.

“Investing in the UK’s children’s centres simply makes sense not only are we investing in our children, we are investing in our future.”