THE Government has promised £7million to Buckinghamshire County Council to set up 22 children's centres in the county.

The idea behind the centres is to provide local help that will break the cycle whereby parents, who do not know how best to bring up their children, pass their mistakes down to the next generation.

That could take years, said Sue Imbriano, Buckinghamshire's education chief.

She added that the situation had to be tackled at an early stage in a child's life.

"Some parents desperately want help and advice and we need to break into the cycle," she said.

She told the Free Press children's centres were about providing the services that people with young children needed, which could vary from place to place.

There could be day nurseries, help for mums, family care, teaching parenting skills, clinics and advice about healthy living and eating.

"We have to find out what people need," said Mrs Imbriano. "The money has been promised."

The £7million was announced at a meeting of the county council last week and generally welcomed.

Lib Dem councillor Chloe Willets thought centres would help build up parents' confidence and that in turn would give children a good start in life.

It could help them do better in schools and help the 34 per cent of children who did not get five GCSEs.

Wycombe Labour member Clare Martens asked for some of the money to come to east Wycombe, where she said many of the primary schools had 30 to 40 per cent of children with educational needs problems which were related to family life.

The county council did put forward a programme of change to schools in east Wycombe including a children's centre, but this was halted because parents did not like changes to the schools involved, particularly to Hannah Ball Infants, in Philip Road, and Bowerdean Nursery school in Gordon Road.

Cllr Martens said: "We were promised that we would have something at east Wycombe but after consultation Marion Clayton unfortunately decided not to make a decision until 2007.

"The primary schools have been left up in the air with nothing happening. I hope some of this money will come to east Wycombe.

"Early intervention will make a difference."

Cllr Clayton said east Wycombe would not lose out.

"I feel it is sad that parenting skills have to be taught, but they do. I think this will have a huge difference in the future.

"It is essential that parents are taught how to look after their children."

Mrs Imbriano said that county hall staff and partners in the police and health would analyse what was needed, and where.

She said Government money had already gone to areas more obviously deprived than Buckinghamshire such as Newcastle.

Bucks had had to lobby hard to make the point that it too had deprived areas.

She said: "We have to look at communities and identify the need. But the most deprived areas will get help first."