Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 112696, if the Government will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make the provision of children's centres a statutory requirement for councils.

The Childcare Act 2006 already places a statutory duty on councils to have, so far as reasonably practicable, sufficient children's centres to meet local need. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/21/part/1/crossheading/childrens-centres. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance to support councils in exercising their duties under the Childcare Act 2006. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sure-start-childrens-centres.