§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will announce the result of the bid by Somerford Infant School and the Grange Neighbourhood Nursery Partnership for an early years excellence center. [13029]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 6 November]: 49 early excellence centers are now developing practice in integrated care, education and family services. Working closely with sure start and neighbourhood nurseries, we will create up to 100 centers across the country by 2004. On 27 February we announced an expansion of the programme and invited expressions of interest in joining it. On 1 October we announced 14 new centers—the first in a series of designations resulting from those expressions of interest. The proposal for a center at Somerford Infant School as part of the Grange neighbourhood nursery scheme was, at this stage, considered not yet ready to join the programme. Along with other proposals in need of further work Somerford Infant School was invited to develop its plans further. We are now considering proposals as part of a next batch of EEC designations and expect to make further announcements in the new year.