Mr Balls, who spoke to Nursery World at the launch of a campaign by the charity 4Children to celebrate and promote Sure Start's work among local communities, said, 'It was never part of the original vision for Sure Start to be only for the poor and I think that it would be a hugely backward step to withdraw universal services.'
Mr Balls acknowledged the need for a greater degree of involvement from health services in children's centres. 'It requires a local commitment to make sure that health services are involved,' he said. 'We do need more health visitors, but should these come from the Sure Start budget or from PCTs? The Conservatives want to cut Sure Start funding to pay for more health visitors, but I think this would be another backward step. It would be good to have health visitors working from children's centres, but for most centres it would mean cuts to their running budgets.'
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
