Welcome Gordon

Mr Brown praised the centre for its work and spoke to mums about what else they want the Government to do for them.

He also took a tour of the Everleigh Road facility, which opened in April when the centre for young families moved from its original base in Pinehurst.

"I am delighted to be here this afternoon," Mr Brown said.

"I was particularly keen to come to Swindon because I have heard about all the great things that have been going on here.

"What I have seen happening in Swindon is that Sure Start has developed as parents have wanted to see it develop."

Mr Brown chatted to parents about Sure Start centres and other services for young children.

"As a father of a very young child I think all of us are interested in how we can best develop the talents of our children," he said, telling parents his 14-month-old son slept in in the morning like a teenager.

Carol Hanks, who volunteers at the centre, was there with three-year-old son Robbie to meet Mr Brown.

"He was different to what I expected," Mrs Hanks, 41, of Penhill Drive, said. "He had time to speak to everybody."

Tara Jones, a volunteer and member of the Sure Start board, talked to Mr Brown with youngest daughter Leah Plumb.

"He was asking how old she was and what her name was," she said afterwards. "He seemed to take a bit of a shine to her.

"I was expecting him to be a bit stuck up but he was totally different. I told him how much Sure Start has made a difference to our lives. It has helped me a hell of a lot. I live in a maisonette with no garden but I have been able to get the kids out the house by coming here.

"Hopefully the volunteering I do here will help when I am ready to go back to work because it has given me experience."

Liz Evans, Sure Start manager, said: "It was wonderful. The Chancellor really seemed to be enjoying having a look round and he was very impressed with what we are doing here."

And she was sure the Government had the right idea with Sure Start centres, which are designed to give young families help and support.

"I think the way that services are run through these centres makes more sense to families than how things used to be organised."

Julia Drown, MP for South Swindon, who was at the centre for the visit, said: "I was delighted that Gordon found time out of his immensely busy schedule to visit this very successful Sure Start centre."

The Chancellor also thanked Swindonians for their donations and work for the victims of the tsunami.

"Thank you to all of you who have been generous to the victims of the disaster in south east Asia," he said. "I know through Julia Drown and Michael Wills that a lot has been done in Swindon."

As he left the Sure Start centre he also spoke about Government aid and debt relief to the affected areas.

He said he thought they had support from almost all the major countries for a moratorium on debt relief.

"There is a meeting in Paris next Wednesday and I hope by this time not only will the amount of debt relief be very substantial as part of the moratorium but that Britain as a result of that will be increasing its contributions substantially to south-east Asia," he said.

Before his visit to Swindon Mr Brown had observed the three-minute silence outside the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff.

Factfile

SURE Start was set up in Swindon three years ago as part of a Government initiative to give young families help and support.

The centre provides nursery places for 34 children as well as a range of facilities and courses for families.

Parents helped to plan the facilities, which include a community caf, meeting rooms, sleeping room for babies, a breast feeding room, kitchen, playrooms and office.

Parents can get advice on everything from health and social care to stress-busting techniques like aromatherapy.

There is a regular timetable of events and classes, including special sessions for dads, a post-natal depression course and a group for single parents. Covering Penhill and Pinehurst, the facility was originally based in Pinehurst People's Centre and moved to the newly-refurbished former community centre on Everleigh Road in April last year.