If there was any more evidence needed for the Millmead Children’s Centre in Dane Valley, it is the 5 year old boy who was found storing food in his pocket he was given at the nursery “to give to my mum cos she is hungry”. Heartbreaking doesn’t cover it.
I want to reduce the number of children – and parents – who experience that. It’s what I came into politics to do. Jan who runs the centre is a force of nature, managing to keep the centre going through years of cuts, supporting families with a nursery, midwifery appointments, childcare, baby care, a youth club, domestic abuse services and refuge access, all under one roof.
The centre was built as part of the previous Labour government’s Sure Start programme, designed to help all families, and especially the very poorest, have a better start in life. In the past few weeks we have seen the exam results for 16 and 18 years olds demonstrate the gap in achievement between those born in wealthy post codes and those in communities like Dane Valley. Places like Millmead help to close that gap. We need more of this kind of service, not less.
And yet Kent County Council has made the choice to cut the funding for this centre in an effort to close its multi million pound funding gap. After 14 years of Tory austerity and mismanagement nationally all of local government is struggling. But Kent is making choices that will have long term consequences for our community and our economy.
Children will learn less, parents will be less able to work and support their families, women and children will be less safe from domestic abuse, violence and neglect, teenagers will have one less place to go, parents will have less access to advice to help them raise their children.
Raising children is a hard task for everyone and when money is in short supply it’s harder still. That’s why children’s centres like Millmead are so vital. They are long term investments in our children and our communities. Without them we are more likely to have poor health, higher crime rates and fewer people in work.
It’s important that we tackle child poverty: the last Labour government took over half a million children out of poverty – and lifted millions of children out of absolute poverty overall. That achievement has gone into reverse over the last 14 years. In 2022-23 over four million children were living in poverty nationally. In Dane Valley that means more than a quarter of children. The ministerial taskforce announced by the prime minister to work on a Child Poverty strategy is an important step to reducing these terrible statistics. Kent County Council can play its part by reversing its proposal to cut the funding for this children’s centre.
There are always difficult choices to be made when there isn’t much money around, as we have already seen at national level. Kent County Council needs to rethink its proposal. Cutting the funding for a centre like Millmead will make tackling child poverty harder.
Please respond to the consultation here and show your support for the families and children of Dane Valley. https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk/family-hub-services-seashells-and-millmead?
