HC Deb 23 July 2004 vol 424 cc789-90W
Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the budget cuts recently announced for Sure Start were cuts previously announced for the 2004–05 budget; if he will make a statement on how the cuts will be made; and what impact assessment his Department has made of the effect of the cuts on the Sure Start programme. [181300]

Margaret Hodge

The Government remain strongly committed to Sure Start. The 2004 spending review settlement is £1,167 million, £1,483 million and £1,667 million for 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08 respectively.

In addition the Government are streamlining the administration of the programme in order to concentrate resources on the front line. The Sure Start Unit's administrative budget has been reduced by approximately 5 per cent. on a broadly like for like basis between 2003–04 and 2004–05. Programme budgets have not been reduced.

Ms Keeble

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 13 July 2004, to question reference 182841, on Sure Start, how many children are receiving services from the Sure Start centre at King's Heath, Northampton. [184773]

Mr. Stephen Twigg

Pursuant to the previous question answered on 13 July, which asked "how many children in Northampton North have received services from a Sure Start centre". The Sure Start centre in King's Heath is one of two satellite centres developed by the Northampton Sure Start local programme. The programme operates out of its main building, the Camrose Centre, and has developed two satellite centres at Kings Heath and St. James. The Kings Heath satellite delivers a range of Sure Start services, including a medical service and "need to know" shop, which gives a range of advice on areas such as benefits, housing and other statutory services.

Monitoring figures are collected only for the Sure Start Local Programme as a whole. We are not able to give a separate breakdown of figures for the two satellite centres. Sure Start Northampton (Camrose Centre) has a register of 685 children who access its services. In March 2004 155 (23 per cent.) children under four years living in the catchment area had accessed services. The annual average of children seen is 19 per cent.

These figures include the St. James and Kings Heath centres.

Mr. Simmonds

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much of the 2003–04 budget for Sure Start was allocated to(a) capital expenditure, (b) internal management costs, (c) running costs for children's centres, (d) health within children's centres and (e) nursery education in Sure Start. [185720]

Margaret Hodge

In 2003–04, £116 million was spent on Sure Start capital programmes. Over this period total administration expenditure was £13 million.

Funding for children's centres was due to start on 1 April 2004. However, £3.2 million of revenue funding was brought forward to allow local authorities to make an early start with development in 2003–04.

Children's centre health services are integrated with other services and are mainly paid for by Primary Care Trusts. It is not possible to provide a separate figure for health expenditure in children's centres.

The information on nursery education is not available in the form requested. From April 2003, Nursery Education Grant was consolidated within the under-fives sub-block of the Education Formula Spending Share (EFSS)—local authorities' main education budget. It is for individual LAs in consultation with local partners to determine how overall resources should be used.

All LAs received sufficient funding to enable them to meet their statutory responsibilities to provide free nursery education for three and four-year-olds. The overall EFSS under fives sub-block in 2003–04 was £2.6 billion.