Something or nothing or something for nothing

Abstract

HAVE YOU heard the saying, ‘what the right hand giveth, the left hand taketh away’? It may well come from the gospel of Matthew, specifi cally: ‘But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.’ I mention this because this verse seems to be the source of another saying: ‘Th e left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.’ Why do I mention this? Sure Start Children’s Centres; that is why. Can you see the link? It has nothing to do with the services off ered by children’s centres, nor the long-term benefi ts of the top quality childcare, family and community services that the majority off er, nor indeed does it refl ect on the improved life chances off ered by the centres, nor the enormous contribution they could make to the coalition’s beloved ‘Big Society’. Th e link has even less to do with the chance that the centres give to parents to undertake training and education, nor for the chance they give parents to get back into the workforce, which boosts the economy and keeps all those heads of business who fi nance the government happy. No, the link I make between the saying, in all its many versions, and children’s centres is the mixed message coming from government. Th e Children’s Minister has repeatedly stated that enough money has been made available to safeguard children’s centres and their services. However, local authorities up and down the country are proposing to close of many of these centres. How can this be? After all, in another interview, the minister stated that she ‘expects’ local authorities to maintain children’s centres. Yet, no-one seems to be taking notice, as both Anand Shukla (acting chief executive of Daycare Trust) and Dr Richard House make clear in this issue. Is someone washing their hands of the money that should be used to ensure that all children have the best start in life, and that would allow more families to share in that big society that seems to have dropped off the radar? Can we blame cash-strapped local authorities? Th e government is giving them money and sending vague messages about where it should be spent. Unless the government dictates that the money must be spent on early years services, the temptation will be to spread the money around to other needy areas. Localism is brilliant, if it works. Of course, the government will say it has done its duty and that it cannot be blamed if a local authority decides to spend elsewhere, and the local authorities will say that the government did not state exactly where the money should be spent. In the meantime, children and their families lose out, and what no-one in power seems to realise is that any amount of fi re-fi ghting and kowtowing to business leaders further up the food chain will amount to little more than spitting on a forest fi re. If the centres in your area are under threat, I would urge you to write to your local authority, and to your local MP; print off letters for parents and other staff members to send in, get local media outlets involved. Th ese are your services and you know how important they are, even if those in council offi ces and government chambers do not. Editor Neil Henty MSc