Sure Start parents furious as council hands over crèche service to private company
Article published: Thursday, May 5th 2011
Parents from Save Manchester Sure Start are demanding that Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese stick to his commitment to hold options for keeping the centres in public hands open after learning that council crèche services are already being handed over to private providers.
Campaigners for Save Our Sure Start
The revelation came the day after supporters marked the official launch of their campaign against outsourcing by releasing balloons marked with the names of the city’s 36 centres into the air at Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens last Tuesday. The parents have begun a petition and are hoping to gather 4,000 signatures to the council calling for Sure Start to remain publicly run.
Currently, the council argues that it is no longer able to afford to directly provide Sure Start following a 25 per cent reduction in its budget due to government cuts. While no centres will close, they are to be outsourced from council control to independent and voluntary providers. Parents fear such organisations will not be able to provide the same level of care and accountability as public providers, and are calling for funding to be reinstated and ‘ring fenced’.
Leese had previously indicated a twelve week consultation would be held prior to a final decision on the fate of the service by the council executive, including the consideration of proposals to maintain direct council control, at a public meeting organised by the campaign to discuss the future of the service on 23 April.
However, campaigners reacted with fury when they learned that East Manchester Crèche Team, a council service providing mobile day care facilities across North, East and Central Manchester, will shortly be handed over to Bear Necessities, a private company. Joanne McCann, an organiser for the group, told Mule she was “shaking with anger” at the news, saying “it’s all been done by the back door.” She warned that businesses could not guarantee the same training to staff and asked, “If you’re fragmenting the service then who’s going to be safeguarding these children?”
Open communication?
Tensions have risen frequently over what supporters see as stalling attempts by officials, with former Wythenshawe Sure Start District Head of Centre Bill Jefferies, who left the service last year, has accused the council of “a terrible campaign of intimidation against staff and campaigners.” Last March a leaked email from the council press office was uncovered seemingly ordering children’s centre workers to not pass out any information in order to ensure communication meetings between Leese and parents were not “hijacked” by the group.
Leese has repeatedly distanced himself from the order in the email, since rescinded, and at the April 23 meeting told parents “I made clear I support establishing parent’s forums”, adding “if there’s anyone in the council not doing that then it’s not with the formal blessing of the council…I support open communication in any way possible.”
Nevertheless, parents remain unconvinced .In response to Leese Paula O’Reilly, whose children use Old Moat Sure Start centre, pointed out that communication issues “need to be addressed if even the leader doesn’t know” why the email was sent.
Manchester City Council has been contacted but have not yet replied.
Richard Goulding
More: Manchester, News
Comments
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These brave girls fighting the so called might that is the City Council….about time they got a run for their money!!! Think they might just win this, bit bad neglecting the nippers youth service already been wiped out overnight pretty much apparently, it was the only council to do so in UK! tut tut. Come on MCC you can do better than this. Sort the finance officer out and funding situation out lots of money floating around thrown at tourism here so… Good luck girls hope you sort it all out!
Comment by Joanne Harworth on May 5, 2011 at 7:57 pm -
Im one of the campaigners for this and I find it disgusting that no matter what the council has said to keep us invovled at every step of the way, this is not the case and has been all done hush hush. This is low and like Joanne said the council do not care where the safeguarding of these children are. There is no guarantee of the same training so where is the concern for the children, our future as the council so kindly put it.
Comment by Nicola McGee on May 6, 2011 at 8:53 am -
[…] for ignorance”. Under current plans library-based homework clubs for schoolchildren will end and Sure Start children’s centres face outsourcing, while the city’s youth service wing has been […]
Pingback by Chorlton marches against cuts this Saturday — MULE on June 10, 2011 at 5:58 pm
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