Mother's fighting for their kids

Who said mothers can’t be a formidable force? A group of women are using Mother's Day to take their campaign against cuts to Sure Start Children's Centres to Downing Street. Five mothers and their toddlers from local campaigns across England will take a 50,000-name petition against cuts and closures of the centres and give it to Citizen Dave, the people’s toff.

In recent research by the Daycare Trust, it was suggested up to 86% of centres are facing budget cuts and that up to 250 may close in 2011. Ministers responded to this view by arguing there wasn’t enough money to retain the centres.

So much for the Tories protecting frontline services!

According to the Tory view, they want to refocus the centres to help more disadvantaged families with health visitors picking up some of their early intervention work. As a result, Sure Start Children's Centres will be cut in some places because the grant which funds them was cut by 11% in the emergency budget, and again in the comprehensive spending review by almost the same percentage. Then the government removed the protection from the Sure Start budget. This has left them vulnerable as councils sought to make up losses to their central government grants overall.

As local authorities have set out their plans to reduce budgets, local campaigns have sprung up from parents anxious about losing services and the support offered to them and their children. Campaign groups travelling to London later today will include mothers from Lambeth, Hampshire, Manchester, Camden, Stoke, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kirklees and Derby.

They intend to sing nursery rhymes and do some face painting after handing their petition in to Number 10. Organiser of the Mother's Day event Louise King said:

"On the day the nation's thoughts turn to mothers and the job they do, we wanted to highlight the devastating impact that these cuts are having on mums and kids everywhere. Sure Start Children's Centres are a great leveller in our society. Kids from all walks of life mix and learn together. Parents can further their education and gain vital support. Take them away or force them to make cutbacks, and we'll see the next generation really suffer."

Sharon Hodgson, the Shadow children's minister will be joining the mothers in Downing Street on Sunday. In a previous statement, she has called for the government to reinstate the ringfence to the Sure Start budget and argued she knew of some centres that were seeing their budgets reduced from £450,000 to £19,000 a year but still being called Children's Centres.

This blog wishes them every success and hopes they all have a wonderful Mother’s Day.