45% Sure Start Cuts At Flagship Tory Council

Tory Hammersmith and Fulham council are cutting their Sure Start budget by 45% – despite Cameron saying “On Sure Start, the budget is going from £2,212m to £2,297m – that budget is going UP, that is what’s happening” – but according to local MP Andy Slaughter, it’s even worse than that:

“Analysis of the funding arrangements for the sixteen centres in the borough revealed that ten of the centres will receive less than £25,000 per year as of April 2012. Under the current funding arrangements, the Wendell Park Family Centre received £62,500 in the first quarter of this financial year – the equivalent of £250,000 for the year. The funding earmarked for the 2012-2013 financial year is just 10% of that figure at £25,000.”

How on earth do you run a Sure Start centre for £25,000 a year?