Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the budget for Sure Start in England in each of the past three years; and to detail (1) the budget for this year, and (2) any projected funding for future years.

The government does not set budgets or eligibility criteria for Sure Start children’s centres in England. English local authorities have a duty under section 5A of the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure there are sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. More information can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/21/section/5A.

Decisions on how best to meet the needs of the local population, including which children and families receive support, are for the council concerned.

Funding for children's services, including children's centres, gives local authorities the freedom to decide how best to target their resources and respond flexibly to local need. Local authorities must meet their children’s centre statutory duties through the funding made available via the local government finance settlement. Local authorities report actual and planned expenditure on children’s services, including children’s centres, through annual returns, which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data#local-authority-and-school-finance. In addition, other government funding, such as that for public health, adult skills training and the Supporting Families programme may also be used locally to support services delivered wholly, or in part, though children’s centres.