so if labour aren't still in power on 7th may...

This is an honest question, to jollypirate and anyone else that has an opinion - are surestart centres really so useful? In my town, the local surestart centre duplicates a lot of services that are already available. It is the same situation with bookstart. We spend money on giving away books when they can be borrowed from the local library for free.

Is it so different in other areas?

leningrad With all due respect - if these "abilities" are not already held in the family then I'm not sure these kids have much of a future anyway.

Still... I don't mind paying for some underprivileged mum to learn what a carrot is if the rest of you don't mind paying for my wee Cuthbert's skiing lessons.

Well said, Skihorse.

JollyPirate I am stunned. Can the parents/family not provide (most of) this themselves? Is this what we have arrived at? A state in need of babysitting? Seriously, a government group for "healthy eating"? Baby massage? CAB sessions? etc., etc. ad nauseum.

SureStart Childrens Centres do not provide childcare just to clear up any confusion here. They provide a variety of resources and groups to support families for children under 5. Our local centre runs mother and baby/toddler groups, speech therapy, healthy eating, self-esteem and positive skills groups for young mothers, baby massage, teenage parents antenatal support, CAB sessions, behaviour support etc etc. They also provide a fabulous outreach service to support families who have a variety of problems which includes a dedicated outreach service for the local women's refuge, behaviour management and support, mental health support.
As a HV I would be devastated if the service were to be hugely reduced as without this my job (already understaffed/approaching 700 families on my caseload in a very deprived area) would be 10 times harder than it already is. At least I have a service I can refer families into at the moment. Prior to the advent of these childrens centres there was very little to meet the needs of families with young children.

Thanks for the link bobthebudda. I already know that there are no plans to completely do away with surestart centres but it's good to see a link for others who are hearing the scare stories in the press.

wmmc you need to add Education to that list. With out education we can't move forward.

whomovedmychocolate I don't think it really matters who is in charge, those 3 situations you've listed I think will always be a priority in any decent westernised society - no matter what. I doubt you'd find anyone on this website who'd disagree - which is why I'm always astounded that people seem to think the Tories would have the "needy" scavenging from bins... what an odd conclusion to draw.

I agree, we as a populace need to apply logic to a situation. If we cannot afford it, we can't buy it. I can't walk in to John Lewis and have a tantrum because they won't let me take what I "want".

Why the I know bugger all about services for disabled people because I'm lucky enough not to need them, doesn't mean I can have an opinion about their value does it?

I personally think we need to be realistic here whoever is in power will need to reduce public service spending, you can slice it anyway you like but the country cannot afford to keep spending like this. So some tough choices have to be made and frankly, perhaps we do need to address the things that are luxuries like support services. Yes I know people rely on agencies to help them but let's imagine for a second that we did things slightly differently, and dare I say in an old fashioned way where families and communities helped out?

Priorities are:

1 Everyone has enough to eat and somewhere to live
2 Everyone has healthcare to keep them alive
3 Vulnerable adults and children get the protection they need.

Once we've solved those problems then yes, let's spend the rest on stuff that is valuable but will not actually save your life.

My strident opinion dictates that I must do what is best for the country rather than what suits my day. I think it's pretty simple.

I have childcare arrangements in place for my child, I'm not relying on the government.

So biscuit yourself away.

"I'm not aware of what surestart does.. but I'm sure it's more for mummy's benefit than baby's".

ie "I don't know what I'm on about but I've managed to form a strident opinion anyway"

I do wish they'd keep the "emotional" crap out of it - as wilfandwilma says, we're not stupid. This game of "I'll see your blind eye and raise you a dead baby" is absolutely bloody unbelievable.

I must admit, I'm not really aware of what surestart does (I've been living outside the UK for 10 years), but I'm sure it's more for mummy's benefit than baby's. I'm expecting my first and I've already reached the conclusion that from here on in my decisions have to be what's best for my children and not for me. Yes, I'm a martyr already!

ohdeary Which services do you think people who vote Conservative don't value? Seriously, I can't begin to imagine what you might think they might be.

ha, well WilfandWilma I suspect that politics and who you vote for is as much about emotion as intelligence, which is why Ed & Co feel free to insult it - don't most of them? He does have an incentive given he and his wife clear 300k plus a year in salary and expenses. Who wouldn't be flinging facts around with gay abandon if that and a future job as Chancellor were under threat

As a mother to three small children I actually feel that all this scaremongering by Ed Balls & Co is a complete insult to my intelligence. Do they really think that I'll vote Labour on the basis of what they say the Tories will do to Sure Start?

Sorry, I'm a bit cynical about the www.saveoursurestart.com thing. It was launched by Ed Balls & says clearly that it's run by the Labour Party. The Tories according to that Times article have repeatedly stated they're committed to SureStart. Whether that's true or not, well, we'd have to find out in the event of a Tory government I suppose. But the C4 fact-check blog (which I linked to on another post) is pretty useful in letting us get as many of the facts behind all the cross-party claims pre-election. Bloody glad somebody's doing it

Skihorse you've made an excellent point. There was an interesting piece in the Times today about investing in Sure Start versus investing in young peoples' futures.

Link is here

Whoever is in power after 6th May is going to have to make some hard decisions.

there is a lot of talk about cutting the debt but actually its no worse that after WW2 when we still managed to set up the NHS. We can't afford to let the tories cut services just because they don't value them or use them.

Well said skihorse

I will feel happy. That will be a big change.

There's a choice really isn't there? A fluffy daycare centre for your kid today - or your child paying Labour's debts for the rest of their lives.

So... how much do you love your kids?

I work in Higher Education. We are already planning for next year with the assumption that the Conservatives will be in and our budgets slashed.

philanthropic