§ The Earl of Listowelasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many lone parents under the age of 25 are benefiting from the Sure Start programme during the first year of their child's life at present; and how many are anticipated to be doing so in (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years. [HL1937]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)Sure Start is a government programme for children under four and their parents. Its aim is to work with parents and children to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of pre-school children—particularly those who are disadvantaged—to enhance their chances of success. The programme is targeted on areas of disadvantage, typically with between 500 and 1,000 children under four, and will aim to provide services for all families in that area with children under four. A key target group of the population in these areas will be lone parents.
The Sure Start programme in England is being rolled out in stages, with the target to have 250 programmes operational by 2001–2002. The first 60 "trailblazer" areas were announced in January 1999 and most have now started to deliver services. A further 69 areas were announced in November 1999 and it is anticipated these will be up and running by the summer. It is hoped to announce a further round in the summer.
Information on how many lone parents are using Sure Start services is collected centrally, on a monthly basis, but this is not broken down by their age, nor that of their children. As the 60 trailblazer programmes are only just starting to deliver services, the information received so far does not give an accurate or reliable indication of the number of lone parents who are benefiting from Sure Start. As more Sure Start programmes start to deliver services, the overall number of lone parents benefiting from Sure Start will increase.