I wholeheartedly welcome the celebrations at the Queens Park Family Hub (Free activities for families this weekend, Bedford Independent, 7 September) and hope all the children and families have a super time.
Read: Monthly column: Free activities for families this weekend
However, I don’t accept the political spin that Mayor Tom Wootton (“At the heart of my manifesto was a promise for families“) appears to be putting on it.
Family Hubs are the new name for Children’s Centres, which have existed in Bedford Borough for years, long before Tom Wootton even dreamed of writing his manifesto or putting his name forward to be Mayor.
Queens Park was one of the first Children’s Centres in Bedford Borough. Children’s Centres developed from Sure Start, one of the Labour Government’s undoubted successes, which were undermined in the period of austerity under the Coalition Government from 2010 onwards, with hundreds of centres nationally being forced to close.
It’s to the credit of the previous Bedford Borough administration, of which Labour executive members were a part, that Children’s Centres have been kept going through a long period of financial stringency when other Council budgets were cut.
And it’s to the personal credit of Labour Councillors – Cllrs Oliver, Atkins and others – who have served on Children’s Centre advisory boards or supported the centres in their wards.
The Tories have belatedly realised that early years matter, that money spent on young children and families’ welfare can make a crucial difference in later life.
That’s why they have returned to the concept, via the rebranded “Family Hubs“. (Just as having cut 20,000 police officers, they’re belatedly recruiting new police officers again.)
Family Hubs have a wider focus, in that they are intended for all children and young people up to age 19, or up to 25 for young people with special educational needs.
The facilities at Queens Park and most other hubs will be mainly for 0-5’s; but if a family, for example, comes along with older siblings, then they will be able to access additional advice appropriate to their ages.
Family Hubs are not being rolled out universally; they were subject to a highly competitive bidding process. One of the reasons why Bedford Borough was successful in its bid for the Family Hubs grant was because it already had a network of Children’s Centres.
So I welcome the additional money and facilities for children and families but much as Mayor Tom may like to pose as Father Christmas, he really can’t take credit for decades of work put in by others.
Yours,
Cllr James Valentine
Labour, Kempston West
Chair, Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Bedford Borough Council
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