Caroline HintTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many full-time child care places are provided through Sure Start programmes. [87966]
§ Maria EagleThe first 260 round 1–4 Sure Start local programmes plan to have created 10,000 new full time childcare places by 2003–04. The programmes approved continues to grow towards the target of at least 500 programmes. Programmes beyond the first 260 will create further childcare places.
§ Ms DrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to improve access to child care for working parents. [91056]
§ Maria Eagle[holding answer 16 January 2003]: We have funded an unprecedented expansion in child care provision throughout the country through the National Childcare Strategy. Since 1997, 553,000 new places have been created benefiting more than one million children.
A new Unit, led by my colleague the Minister for Sure Start (Baroness Catherine Ashton) and accountable for delivery to both the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions, will administer a budget of £l. 5 billion a year by 2006. This includes more than doubling child care spending.
150WBy March 2004, new child care places for 1.6 million children will be created, with further new places established for 450,000 children by 2006. Specific initiatives, such as the establishment of Children's Centres and Neighbourhood Nurseries, will expand high quality, safe child care in disadvantaged areas, increasingly provided alongside early education and family support.
Substantial help with child care costs is provided to lower income families through the child care tax credit element of the Working Families Tax Credit. This assistance will continue in an improved and more flexible form as part of the new Working Tax Credit from April 2003.