Council confirms its commitment to Sure Start

Manchester City Council has today written to all parents of children who currently use its Sure Start Centres to confirm its continuing commitment to Sure Start provision.

The letter - from Councillor Sheila Newman, Executive Member Children's Services - has been sent to parents to reassure them following a number of misleading reports in the media that centres are going to close.

Here is the text of the letter:

Dear Parent/Carer 

I am sending you this short note about the proposed changes to day-care and Sure Start Provision in Manchester in response to the wholly understandable concerns raised by parents and carers with many of my councillor colleagues.

 An important part of the background to these changes is the difficult financial position the Council has been placed in by reduction in government grants. As a result the Council has to make budget reductions of £109M next year, rising to £170M the following year. Early Intervention Grant which funds Sure Start and Children's Centres has been cut by £8M alone. All this means we do not have the money to continue as we are.

 Manchester City Council Children's Services has a responsibility to ensure there is sufficient good quality provision of free day care for 15 hours per week to three and four year old children. In addition we want to ensure that children who are in need of additional good quality services receive these in order to get a sure start in their early years. We are aware of how much Sure Start services are valued by children and families and will do everything we can to minimise changes which will impact on young children.

In light of the recent and very challenging financial settlement for Manchester and in order to achieve the large amount of savings referred to above, it is proposed that Children's Services withdraws from its current role as a provider of these services. Instead the Council will become a commissioner of provision. This means we will be ensuring it is of sufficient quality and properly targeted where necessary. Our plan is to encourage a range of providers in the independent and voluntary sector to run this provision including local schools, a number of which have the current Children's Centre facilities close by.

It is not our intention to close Children's Centres. We intend to find alternative providers which could be groups of schools or voluntary and independent providers such as Barnardos, Big Life Company or Family Action which already deliver some of our Sure Start Centres in Manchester. It is inaccurate and misleading to say that decisions have been taken to close services or offer the services to a big private provider. These proposals were made public on Tuesday 8th February in order to get feedback from interested parties prior to the proposals with the budget not being finalised until early March. Parents and carers views are very important and we want to make sure that local communities are consulted and have their say. We have had a high number of comments and inquiries so far. The local Children's Centres will provide more details of when and where these consultation sessions will be held and we encourage you to take part in this process. You will also be able to play a part in informing the selection of service providers in your area.

There is an e-mail address where you can post your comments and questions. This is budget.enquiry@manchester.gov.uk 
  

I hope this information assists in correcting any misleading information.

Yours Sincerely,

Cllr Sheila Newman

Executive Member for Children's Services