National family support charity Home-Start UK has said local members of its federation are operating in a “very challenging environment” as another announced its closure.
This week, local charity Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands, established in 1998, announced that it will close at the end of June.
The charity, which oversees a network of around 170 local Home-Starts, said the Staffordshire Moorlands branch would be the seventh to close over the past year.
However, Home-Start said some of its members had closed through expansion or merging with neighbouring charities in the network.
The national charity’s director of network impact, Sarah McMullen, said: “It’s a very challenging environment for charities across the voluntary and community sector, with rising costs and pressure on funding coming at a time of increased demand for services.
“It’s always very sad when trustees have to make the difficult decision to close a charity that’s been providing such an essential service in its community.
“Thanks to all of the staff and trustees at Home-Start Staffordshire Moorland for their hard work and efforts, and for their many years of supporting families.”
McMullen said there have been mergers and consolidations within the Home-Start network over time, with fewer but larger local charities now providing services.
“Home-Start UK is focused on strengthening the resilience and sustainability of local Home-Starts wherever possible, and when a local charity does have to close, we work with partners and neighbouring services where we can to protect support for families,” she added.
Local charity: ‘Closing is the only viable option’
Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands’ latest annual report shows that the charity recorded a total income of £147,000 and total expenditure of £174,000 in 2024-25.
During that year, it had 3.7 full-time equivalent employees and incurred staff costs of £128,000.
The report says the charity faced “another challenging year, with ongoing funding pressures and difficulties in recruiting new volunteers”.
“In line with national trends, the number of our volunteers has declined over recent years, often due to work and caring commitments or uncertainty about the commitment required by the role,” it reads.
“This has created gaps in provision in some of the areas with the highest levels of need, directly limiting the number of families we can support.”
In a statement, the charity said its decision to close “hasn’t been made lightly”.
“Like a number of other small local charities, we’ve been facing increasing funding challenges in recent years, with fewer grants available and growing competition for limited resources,” it said.
“It’s now impossible for us to continue delivering our services in a sustainable way.
“Despite the dedication of our amazing volunteers and supporters, we’ve reached a point where closing is the only viable option.”
This comes after Home-Start South Wiltshire, founded in 1999 and registered as a charity in 2004, said it would close in February after facing “significant financial pressures due to lack of funding”.
