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12 Oct 2009 : Column 202W—continued
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) what estimate he has made of the number of Sure Start Children's Centres to be operational in 2010; [291545]
(2) how many Sure Start Children's Centres have (a) opened and (b) closed in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since the inception of Sure Start centres; [291547]
(3) how much capital his Department has provided for Sure Start children's centres in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since the establishment of Sure Start; [291805]
(4) how many outreach workers have been employed in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997. [291546]
Mr. Coaker: We are on track to achieve our target of at least 3,500 Sure Start children's centres by March 2010, offering access to services for all children under five and their families. As of 31 July 2009, there were 3,052 centres operational in England, providing access to services for over 2.4 million children and their families.
The following table gives details of how many centres have opened in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since the inception of Sure Start children's centres. To date, no centres have been closed.
| Table 1: Children's centres opened | ||||
| Jarrow | South Tyneside | North East | England | |
The Department allocates capital and revenue funding for children's centres and their predecessor Sure Start local programmes to local authorities. It is for local authorities to decide how to allocate funding between individual centres. The following table contains details of the capital allocations for South Tyneside, the North East and England in each of the years since the inception of the Sure Start programme.
| Table 2: Capital funding | |||
| £ | |||
| South Tyneside | North East | England | |
| (1) The first Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) were set up in 1999-2000. SSLPs received a single capital allocation for the period 1999-2000 to 2005-06. (2) Sure Start children's centres were introduced from 2003-04. All former SSLPs have now become children's centres. Capital funding for the Sure Start children's centres capital programme was made available from 2003-04. (3) The 2006-07 and 2007-08 allocations are for the wider main capital block and includes funding for child care sustainability and extended schools, during these years local authorities had the flexibility to decide how much of their total capital allocation to spend on children's centres and were not required to provide a breakdown of the funding provided for children's centres. | |||
From 2006-07 children's centres capital formed part of the wider main capital funding block. From 2008-09 the block comprised funding for children's centres, early years provision, child care and integrated projects. Funding in the main capital block is not ring-fenced and local authorities have the freedom to decide how much of their total capital allocation to spend on children's centres in line with local priorities.
The Department does not collect information on the number of outreach workers employed by children's centres. Staffing levels are a matter for local management by local authorities and their partner agencies.
Children's Centres: Closures
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many child care settings provided as part of a Sure Start children's centre have closed in the last 12 months. [289311]
Dawn Primarolo: We do not collect this information. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there is sufficient child care for working parents in their areas. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) will continue to support local authorities to carry out their sufficiency duties to ensure that there is an appropriate range of child care provision that meets the needs of different families in each area. We remain committed to ensuring that high quality child care is available for the most disadvantaged families, and children's centres play a pivotal role in supporting this aim.
Children's Centres: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many further Sure Start children's centres are planned for (a) Hemel Hempstead constituency, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire; and when he expects all such centres to be operational. [289421]
Dawn Primarolo:
Hertfordshire local authority currently has 51 Sure Start Children's Centres offering services to approximately 42,400 children, with a further 31 planned to be delivered by March 2010 in order to provide universal coverage of children's centre services for children under five and their families. Of the 31 planned centres,
four will be located in Dacorum. There are no further centres planned for the Hemel Hempstead constituency.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Sure Start children's centres were operating in (a) Hemel Hempstead constituency, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire on the latest date for which figures are available. [289635]
Mr. Coaker: As of July 2009 Hertfordshire Local Authority has 51 Sure Start Children's Centres offering services to approximately 42,400 children under five and their families. Of these seven are located in Hemel Hempstead constituency and six in Dacorum.
Children's Centres: Manpower
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of Sure Start children's centres have (a) a full-time manager and (b) a manager shared with other children's centres. [289322]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not collect this information. Local authorities have strategic responsibility for the management of Sure Start Children's Centres and the freedom and flexibility to establish management arrangements that are appropriate to the local context and the needs of their communities, especially taking into account the levels of disadvantage.
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department has issued any recent guidance on the recommended number of outreach workers employed in each Sure Start children's centre in the most deprived communities. [289323]
Dawn Primarolo: The latest guidance on the recommended number of outreach workers employed in each Sure Start children's centre serving the most deprived communities is in 'Sure Start Children's Centres: Phase 3 Planning and Delivery', issued by the Department in November 2007. This suggests that in the most disadvantaged areas teams should include at least three outreach workers per children's centre. It is for local authorities, working with their children's trust partners, to determine staffing levels in each centre based on an assessment of local needs.
Children's Trusts
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps he is taking to increase the participation of community and voluntary sector organisations in Children's Trusts. [289698]
Mr. Coaker:
The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill 2009 currently before Parliament will enable third sector organisations to become formal members of the Children's Trust Board. Subject to consultation, statutory guidance will make clear that every Children's Trust Board should include third sector representation. Additionally, we propose to require through regulations that the voluntary, private and independent
sector must be consulted by the Children's Trust Board on the preparation of the Children and Young People's Plan.
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what sanctions he will use against partner organisations which do not meet the performance standards for Children's Trusts. [289699]
Dawn Primarolo: Comprehensive area assessment will provide an overview of how successfully local organisations are working individually and together to improve outcomes for children and young people in their area. Where performance standards are unacceptable, the Government will agree appropriate action with the relevant bodies. Where there is critical or sustained underperformance, the Secretary of State has the power to intervene in a local authority (via section 497A of the Education Act 1996 and section 50 of the Children Act 2004).
Class Sizes: Birmingham
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average pupil:teacher ratio maintained (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency has been in each year since 2004-05. [291440]
Mr. Coaker: The following table provides the pupil:teacher ratio in local authority maintained primary and secondary schools in Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency in each January from 2004 to 2009.
| Pupil:teacher ratios in local authority maintained( 1) primary and secondary schools, January 2004 to 2009, Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency | ||
| Primary | Secondary | |
| (1) Excludes academies and city technology colleges. Source: School Census | ||
Class Sizes: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average class size was for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Dacorum (i) in 1997 and (ii) at the latest date for which figures are available. [289441]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Average class size( 1) of primary and secondary schools, 1997 and 2009, Dacorum | ||||||
| Primary( 2) | Secondary( 2, 3) | |||||
| Number of pupils | Number of classes | Average class size | Number of pupils | Number of classes | Average class size | |
| (1) One teacher classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January. (2) Includes middle schools as deemed. (3) Includes CTCs and academies. Note: Pupil numbers rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census. | ||||||
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