Children’s centres should be brought back to Swindon because they improved youngsters’ health - especially that of the poorest children.

That’s the view of the leader of the Labour opposition group at Swindon Borough Council Jim Grant.

It follows a major report sayings that Sure Start centres, which were closed in Swindon in 2016, made a positive difference to children’s health.

The thinktank the Institute for Fiscal Studies issued the report which says the Sure Start centres, introduced in 1998 by then Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, made a huge difference to the poorest children.

It said: “Sure Start reduced the likelihood of hospitalisation among children of primary school age.

“These benefits get bigger as children get older.

“At younger ages, a reduction in infection-related hospitalisations plays a big role in driving these effects. At older ages, the biggest impacts are felt in admissions for injuries.

“This could suggest that Sure Start is helping young children to develop their immune systems, perhaps through supporting immunisations or exposing children to other children’s illnesses.”

It added: “Sure Start benefits children living in disadvantaged areas most.

“While the poorest 30 per cent of areas saw the probability of any hospitalisation fall by 11 per cent at age 10 and 19 per cent at age 11, those in more affluent neighbourhoods saw smaller benefits, and those in the richest 30 per cent of neighbourhoods saw practically no impact at all.”

Coun Grant says the report shows it was a mistake by the borough council’s Conservative administration to close down the town’s centres three years ago.

He said: “This IFS report takes apart the Conservatives’ reason for closing all of Swindon’s children’s centres.

“The report’s main conclusions are that children’s centres helped improve children’s health; that children from the poorest backgrounds received the most benefits; and that children’s centres delivered a saving to the state of around six per cent.”

He added: “The council talks about early intervention services to support vulnerable people at an early age.

“Yet what the IFS is saying is that getting rid of children’s centres is having a hugely damaging effect on young children’s health outcomes; and has significant costs to the local and national government later down the line.

“In Swindon, the council has acutely felt the effect of failing to support families in their early years, with local demand for social services reaching near unprecedented levels.

“The IFS raises the question that given the benefits of Sure Start children’s centres, do we need to bring them back?

“To me, the answer is obviously yes. I don’t care what these services are called but the evidence is clear that these types of early intervention services are pivotal.”

David Renard, leader of the council said: “Our experience of children’s centres here in Swindon was that they were often not reaching the most vulnerable families who needed support. Following an assessment of the centres, it was decided to close them in order to invest in people rather than buildings and to extend the help provided through the Integrated Families programme which took the support into the homes of those families.

"I would like to see if the NHS agree with the IFS analysis on the value of children’s centres to the overall health of young families and, of course, the impact on admissions, before commenting further. ”

Swindon closed all 12 of its children's centres over 2015 and 2016.