§ Martin LintonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the 20 per cent. most deprived wards in the country to benefit from children's centres; and what criteria he will use to determine which of those wards will be included in the first wave of children's centres to be established. [105639]
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Campaign Cost £ Childcare Recruitment 2,741,377 Childcare Recruitment, targeting ethnic minority audiences 50,000 Aim Higher—a campaign to encourage wider participation in Higher Education 2,649,999 Foundation Degrees 549,397 Connexions 1,320,331 Campaign to encourage year 9 students to visit a revision guide website to assist with their Key Stage 3 national tests 15,260 Adult Basic Skills 5,478,117 UCAS Campaign—a campaign to promote the UCAS helpline around the time of clearing 100,000 Posters to support a Ministerial event on truancy 2,750
§ Maria EagleOfficials wrote to all local authorities on 21 February 2003 enclosing Start Up Guidance on children's centres. There are 136 local authorities that have wards rated as among the most disadvantaged 20 per cent. Of these 124 were given indicative funding, and targets for reach and child care places. The remaining 12 will be individually assessed on a case by case basis to determine the level of funding required.
Local authorities are now beginning their strategic planning and will make decisions at a local level as to the best sites to develop children's centres. Sure Start Unit regional teams will work closely with local authorities over the spring and summer in developing these plans and local authorities will then submit their final strategic plans by 15 October 2003 at the latest. It is at that point that we will have full details of which wards will have children's centres.
The only criterion is that the wards selected must be from the local authority's 20 per cent. most disadvantaged wards as defined in the ODPM Index of Multiple Deprivation.