Before the general election, David Cameron said that independent organisations with a proven track record in parenting interventions, including 4Children, Home-Start and Lifeline, would be invited by the Conservatives to run children's centres (News, 21 January).
However, Kay Bews, chief executive of Home-Start, a family support charity for parents of young children, has said that some of the 340 local Home-Start services, which exist as small, independent charities, face 'dire financial circumstances'.
She said that there has been a significant increase in the number of local Home-Start charities that are experiencing cuts or are expecting cuts to their funding next year.
Ms Bews said, 'It's a very mixed picture. Some Home-Starts are facing in-year cuts, while others have been told by their local authorities not to expect any money next year. Where the cuts are happening, they are devastating. The outcome will be fewer families receiving support. This year we are seeing a lot more local schemes who don't know what is going to happen next year.'
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