HC Deb 28 April 2003 vol 404 cc221-2W
Mr. Goodman

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills where early excellence centres have been set up; and if he will make a statement. [108805]

Maria Eagle

[holding answer 11 April 2003]The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Mrs. Calton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the benefits of Sure Start programmes; what reviews of outcomes have taken place; and if he will make a statement. [107818]

Maria Eagle

A major evaluation of Sure Start began in January 2001. It will examine the impact of Sure Start on children, families and communities, both in the short, medium and long-term by tracking a sample of 8,000 children and their families over time. The first information on impact and effectiveness will become available over the next 12 to 18 months.

Mrs. Calton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how long Surestart programmes for children last. [107819]

Maria Eagle

Sure Start local programmes have guaranteed funding up to March 2006 and there is an in principle commitment to support them until 2013–14. This would mean each local programme is funded for a period of 10 years. Over this time we expect good practice developed in these programmes to be disseminated widely so that mainstream services become more responsive to the needs of young children and their families.

Mrs. Calton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have benefited from(a) a Homestart and (b) a Surestart programme in the last three years, broken down by local authority. [107820]

Maria Eagle

The information requested is contained in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries.

Ms Buck

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places(a) in pre-school playgroups, (b) in private nurseries, (c) with childminders, (d) in holiday play schemes and (e) in after school clubs were provided in each LEA area at 31 March (i) 1999 and (ii) 2002. [105971]

Maria Eagle

The information requested is contained in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries.

Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2003,Official Report, column 301W, on Sure Start, what the values of (a) [x] and (b) [y] in the technical note are; and if he will make a statement. [104373]

Maria Eagle

In the published technical note on Sure Start's Public Service Agreement, x and y have been used to denote that percentages have not yet been set but will be when baseline information becomes available. For example, as the technical note indicates, the target per cent. increase in the proportion of young children in Sure Start local programme and Children's Centre areas with normal levels of personal, social and emotional development will be set by the end of 2003–04 when the first data from the Foundation Stage Profile becomes available.