The charity’s figures are based on local authority annual returns (s251) published by the Department for Education.
They reveal that between 2010/11 and 2014/15, annual children’s centre expenditure fell from £1.2 billion to an estimated £740 million, a fall of 38.3 per cent.
With local authority budgets cut by as much as 30 per cent in some areas, the charity says that they are having to make tough decisions about how money is allocated.
Barnardo’s manages 190 of the 2,800 stand-alone children’s centres across England and says that the extra support that centres provide for families with young children is essential, especially in areas of high need.
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