Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start children's centres there were in England in each year since 2010; and how many such centres provided onsite childcare in each such year.

Based on the information supplied by local authorities, the total numbers of main children’s centres and sites each year since 2010 are set out below:

The Department does not collect data on the number of children’s centres providing childcare on site.

The Department collects information on the provision of child care through the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey[2]. This information allows us to estimate the number of children's centres providing full day care provision on site. Estimates from the 2013 Childcare and Early Years Providers survey show that in 2010 the number of children's centres providing on-site full day care was 800 and that in 2013 this figure was 450. Results of the 2013 survey suggest that increases in the broader supply of full day care provision may have impacted on demand for provision specifically based in children's centres. The survey estimates that between 2010 and 2013 the number of full day care providers increased from 16,700 to 17,900.

[1] Figures for 2010 begin from April 2010. Figures for subsequent years begin from 1 January.

[2] Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey 2013: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2013