Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 24 April 2017 to Question 71222, on children's centres: closures, what criteria her Department uses to measure the planned increase in efficiency of local council services as a result of the closure of Sure Start centres.

It is for councils to measure increases in efficiency as a result of children’s centre closures in line with local funding priorities. Funding for children’s services, including children’s centres, gives councils the freedom to decide how best to target resources and respond flexibly to local need. Statutory guidance makes clear that “in determining the best arrangements locally to meet local needs, value for money and the ability to improve outcomes for all children and families, especially families in greatest need of support, should be important guiding considerations.”