§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the steps his Department is taking to monitor the effectiveness of the Sure Start programme. [148641]
§ Margaret HodgeA major evaluation of the Sure Start programme began in January 2001. It will examine the effectiveness of Sure Start on children, families and communities, both in the short, medium and long-term by tracking a sample of eight thousand (8,000) children and their families over time. The first information on impact and effectiveness will become available over the next 12 months.
§ Martin LintonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have had contact with Sure Start in Battersea since its inception. [144773]
§ Margaret HodgeContact by Sure Start local programmes is defined to mean that a child aged 0–3 years and/or their parent or carer has taken up services. Since its inception in October 2000 Sure Start Battersea reports that it has provided services to some 630 children under four living in the catchment area.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget is for the Sure Start Childcare and Early Years magazine. [147929]
§ Margaret HodgeThe Sure Start Childcare and Early Years magazine was published twice in 2003. The cost for 151W the two issues was £66,339.61 including distribution to 37,000 partners.
The Sure Start Childcare and Early Years magazine was merged with our Upstart magazine at the end of 2003. The new magazine is called Sure Start. The planned annual budget for the new magazine is approximately £160,000 which includes distribution to 60,000 partners.
§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which constituencies in Yorkshire and Humberside have one or more Sure Start initiatives. [149344]
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Constituency Number of Sure Start local programmes Number of Early Excellence Centres Number of neighbourhood nurseries Number of children's centres East and North Ridings Beverley and Holderness, James Cran, Conservative 2 Brigg and Goole, Ian Cawsey, Labour 1 City of York. Hugh Bayley, Labour 1 Cleethorpes, Shona Mclsaac, Labour 1 2 Great Grimsby, Austin Mitchell, Labour 4 3 1 Hull East, John Prescott, Labour 2 2 Hull North, Kevin McNamara, Labour 2 3 Hull West and Hessle, Allan Johnson, Labour 3 2 Scarborough and Whitby, Lawrie Quinn, Labour 1 2 Scunthorpe, Elliot Morley, Labour 2 1 Selby. John Grogan. Labour 1 1 Yorkshire East. Greg Knight, Conservative 1 1 South Yorkshire Barnsley Central, Eric Illsley, Labour 2 9 Barnsley East and Mexborough, Jeff Ennis Labour 2 1 Barnsley West and Penistone, Michael Clapham, Labour 1 3 Don Valley, Caroline Flint, Labour 1 1 Doncaster Central, Rosie Winterton, Labour 1 Doncaster North, Kevin Hughes, Labour 3 Rotherham. Denis MacShane, Labour 1 1 1 Rother Valley, Kevin Barron, Labour. 1 1 1 Sheffield Attercliffe, Clive Betts, Labour 1 (part of the Sheffield EEC network) 2 Sheffield Brightside, David Blunkett, Labour. 3 1 (part of the Sheffield EEC network) 1 Sheffield Central, Richard Caborn, Labour 3 1 (part of the Sheffield EEC network) 3 Sheffield Heeley, Meg Munn, Labour 1 Sheffield Hillsborough, Helen Jackson, Labour 2 Wentworth, John Healey, Labour 1 2 1 West Yorkshire Batley and Spen, Mike Wood, Labour 1 Bradford North, Terry Rooney, Labour 2 3 Bradford South, Gerry Sutcliffe Labour 4 Bradford West, Marsha Singh, Labour 1 1 2 Calder Valley, Chris McCafferty, Labour 1 1 Dewsbury, Ann Taylor, Labour 2 1 Halifax, Alice Mahon, Labour 2 Hemsworth, Jon Trickett, Labour 1 Huddersfield, Barry Sheerman, Labour 3 1 3 Keighley, Ann Cryer, Labour 1 Leeds East, George Mudie, Labour 1 1 3 Leeds Central, Hilary Benn, Labour. 3 4 Leeds North East Fabian Hamilton, Labour 1 Leeds North-west, Harold Best, Labour. 1 Leeds West, John Battle, Labour 1 2 Morley and Rothwell, Colin Challen Labour 3 Pontefract and Castleford, Yvette Cooper, Labour. 2 Shipley, Chris Lesley, Labour 1 Wakefield, David Hinchcliffe, Labour 2 1 1
§ Margaret HodgeThe following table shows the constituencies in Yorkshire and Humberside that have operational Sure Start local programmes, Early Excellence Centres, neighbourhood nurseries and children's centres based within them. Figures for neighbourhood nurseries however are changing by the day as new settings open. The Government intend that, wherever possible, existing Sure Start provision will develop into children's centres as part of the expansion of high quality integrated services to all pre-school children and their families living in the 20 per cent. most disadvantaged wards in England.
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§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many toothbrushes have been distributed free by each Sure Start project. [149398]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 21 January 2004]This information is not collected. It is estimated that to date some 450,000 packs have been distributed to families under the Department of Health's Brushing for Life scheme. This scheme operates in the 29 former district health authority areas with the highest levels of tooth decay and all Sure Start Local Programmes in areas where the water is not fluoridated. Many Sure Start Local Programmes also distribute similar packs to babies and young children under their own oral health promotion schemes.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what legal services and goods Sure Start projects are(a) authorised and (b) forbidden to provide at no cost to the recipient. [149399]
§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 21 January 2004]There are 524 Sure Start local programmes delivering services to children under 4 and their families in the most disadvantaged areas of the country. They aim to achieve better outcomes for children, parents and communities by increasing the availability of child care, improving health, education and emotional development for young children, and supporting parents as parents and in their aspirations towards employment. Services to meet these aims are designed in consultation with families in the area to ensure they reflect local needs. Programmes are neither prevented nor required to provide any goods or legal services free of charge.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to evaluate Sure Start schemes; and what arrangements have been made to ensure that lessons from such evaluations are disseminated. [145079]
§ Margaret HodgeA comprehensive evaluation of the Sure Start programme began in January 2001. It will examine the effectiveness of Sure Start on children, families and communities in the short, medium and long-term by tracking a sample of eight thousand (8,000) children and their families over time. The first information on impact and effectiveness will become available over the next 12 months.
Lessons from the evaluation will be disseminated widely; through the Sure Start Unit Research Publication series, academic journals and practitioner publications and through workshops, seminars and conferences for both practitioners and the academic community.