§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has for the strengthening of early years development and child care partnership plans to ensure a comprehensive network of child care provision. [98727]
§ Ms HodgeMy Department issued planning guidance to assist the early years development and child care partnerships to draw up their updated plans for 2000–01 in September. The guidance emphasises that plans should be working towards comprehensive coverage of child care services. Between May 1997 and end of June 1999, this Administration has created 94,316 new child care places, compared with 74,053 new places created by the out of school child care initiative in the four years between April 1993 and April 1997.
Since September, we have held a series of 14 planning guidance conferences around England attended by over 900 partnership members. As part of an extensive programme of partnership support we have also made a series of two and three day strategic planning modules available to partnerships. These modules offer workshop sessions tailor made to suit the needs of individual partnerships and give an opportunity for partners to identify detailed strategies to implement their early years development and child care plan.
The wider programme of partnership support includes publication of a series of good practice guides, the setting up of quarterly, regional partnership meetings for partnership chairs, lead officers and members, and the issue of regular newsletters and information sheets to partnership members. We are currently assessing partnership training needs and will make training packages available to them by the end of this financial year.