Cabinet Minister Declines to Condemn Children’s Centre Closures

Ealing North MP James Murray says council 'doing everything it can'

James Murray MP during his visit to the Brentside Education Centre

February 16, 2026

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, MP for Ealing North was in West London on Thursday (12 February) visiting an NHS Education Centre as part of National Apprenticeships Week.

During his visit he was asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS] about what the government is doing to support young people getting into apprenticeships. The minister was also asked for his view on Ealing Council closing 10 children’s centres at a time the government is rolling out family hubs across the country.

National Apprenticeship Week is an annual celebration of apprenticeships and the skills and contributions they make to businesses and communities. This year, the government is highlighting how they are “an excellent option to consider for young people wishing to start a career, for employees looking to progress in their current role or retrain for a new career, or for employers needing to fill skills gaps to help grow their business.”

The Chief Secretary visited the London Ambulance Service Brentside Education Centre in Brentford to meet apprentices and tutors. The centre offers apprentices an immersive and situational training experience before heading into the real world as a paramedic.

Mr Murray took part in a number of exercises that apprentices must take as part of their training. This included checking the pulse and breathing of a dummy in a nightclub situation room with flashing lights and music, and an call-out to an elderly person’s home.

Most young people can attest that when they are in sixth form or college, there is an indiscreet push towards attending university. Student numbers across the country has skyrocketed since Tony Blair declared in 1999 that he hopes 50 per cent of young people go to university – a target met in 2019.

However, the current government is seeking to move away from this idea, instead aiming to ensure two-thirds of young people either attend university or take an apprenticeship. The minister was asked how the government intends to change the perception in schools that it is ‘university or nothing.’

He said: “That perception has got to change, and as a government, we are going to change it… by making that clear to young people across the country, that having an apprenticeship is an alternative to going to university – and both are fantastic ways to get into the world of work and improve your opportunities in life – by having both of those on an equal footing is the way the government can send the message that we value apprenticeships so highly.”

Whilst being Rachel Reeves right-hand-man in the Treasury, James Murray remains an MP for Ealing North, a constituency set to see a number of Children’s Centres closed by the Labour-led Ealing Council. This comes at a time when the national Labour government is rolling out family hubs across the nation.

Questions have been raised in Ealing about whether the decision to close the centres – which offer essentially the same services as a family hub – is the right one, and whether it contradicts the policy of the national Labour government. James Murray was asked what he thought about the decision to close 10 children’s centres.

He said: “[Ealing Council] obviously need to make sure that these services are provided in the right way, and I know how important it is for the local council, because I know over the last 15 years under the previous government there were real pressures on their budget. We’re now getting to a position as a government where we’re more sustainably funding local authorities and Ealing Council is doing everything it can to provide those services on the front line.”

When asked whether he thought it was a contradiction of national government policy, he didn’t say no. He added: “Well what the local council is doing is making sure services are provided for local people in the right way, as close as possible to where they live. So I think that what the council is doing is focusing on the same priorities as the government, which is having high quality services for local people.”

Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter