§ 11. Ms CoffeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with local education authorities about guidelines for the new children's centres. [102713]
§ Mr. Stephen TwiggOfficials have been taking forward detailed discussions with local authorities on this issue. The Sure Start Unit issued children's centre guidance to local authorities at the end of February. Prior to this, a series of stakeholder events were held to enable local authorities and other key partners to feed in their views. In the coming weeks officials will be meeting with every local authority due to receive children's centre funding, as they start their strategic planning.