Dear Colleagues
As you may be aware, GMB London Region has initiated a campaign to Save our Sure Start Centres following the brutal cuts to funding which has already been inflicted by this Tory Government since 2010 and looks set to continue.
You may also recall the 2010 General Election assurances made by the Tories that funding for these invaluable centres would be protected. As with many other false or misleading promises made by the Tories, their assurances to protect Sure Start Centres has already seen over 800 centres closed through Government funding cuts and many more in serious financial difficulty, threatened with possible closure in the future.
If we can help to force this Government into a public consultation and debate in the House of Commons we may create an opportunity of forcing the supporting evidence into a wider audience as well as the destructive damage to communities, children and families these closures have already had which are likely to continue if we allow this to happen.
Therefore it would be extremely helpful if you could support this campaign by submitting the following motion to your local Constituency Labour Party for support and onward submission to all Councils across the GMB London Region.
SURE START
In Sure Start, the last Labour Government built a national infrastructure to transform the lives of young families. By opening over 4,000 Sure Start Children’s Centres, Labour guaranteed that every community had its own centre.
A child’s earliest years fundamentally shapes the rest of his or her life. By the time the child is two years old, you can accurately predict their next twenty years of educational performance. Research is conclusive: the best way to revolutionise young lives is to invest in the early years. Sure Start has been a huge success, 90% of parents believe that attending a Sure Start Centre has had a positive impact on their child.
And 80% of parents believe, that attending a Sure Start Centre has had a positive impact on their own confidence and parenting skills. Since the 2010 General Election, the Government has halved funding for Sure Start – forcing over 800 Centres to close.
Independent research forecasts that over the next twelve months:-
* More than half of all Sure Start Centres will have to cut services due to budget cuts
* More than a third of Centres will lose staff
* More than a quarter of Centres will introduce charges
* One in five will cut opening hours
Sure Start staff continue to perform absolutely sterling work, but never ending cuts are making their jobs impossible. Families in desperate need are receiving less support and are having to travel further and further to receive it.
https://petition.parliament,uk/petitions.131852
If you require any further information or would like to get more involved in this campaign please contact our Luton office on 01582 404842 or email: richard.o’leary@gmb,org.uk/colin.greer@gmb.org.uk or hilda.tavolara@gmb.org.uk.
Thank you for your valued support.
Yours in comradeship
Warren Kenny
Regional Secretary
Posted: 16th September 2016