Family information to get more clout

Graham Archer, deputy director of the Department for Children, Schools and Families' childcare division, admitted the oversight at a conference last week at which he discussed the importance of information and advice.

Every local authority has been sent guidance on how to spend its Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare (SSEYCC) grant. But the role of information and advice is mentioned only as a sub-section of "quality and access", the funding stream intended for securing sufficient childcare. This is a duty under the Childcare Act 2006.

"We messed up slightly," said Archer. "We do acknowledge there is a wider set of issues around the role of information and advice."

He told service managers attending the conference that they should "not be surprised" if revised guidance is sent out in the near future.

Information services have come under fire recently after a government evaluation revealed half of service managers do not think they are meeting the duty of local authorities to inform, assist and advise, as set out in the Childcare Act 2006.

Karen Ramshaw, chief executive of the National Association of Family Information Services, has argued that services are not being backed with enough resources. The average budget for a service ranges from under £100,000 to £400,000.

SSEYCC grants range from £230,000 to more than £54m across all councils.

- See Interview, p13.