NO - Tim Loughton, shadow children's minister
The success of Sure Start should be measured on the quality of its outcomes, not the latest artificial Government targets. It is also important that Sure Start projects are not assessed in isolation but on the impact that they have had on the wider community and other similar schemes already in existence. We await the full evaluation with interest but Conservatives support the concept, will increase its funding and want to extend Sure Start's coverage beyond the Government's current ambitions.
YES - Jill Kirby, chair of the family policy group, the Centre for Policy Studies
Sure Start has been an expensive part of the Government's early years strategy, focused on a limited number of neighbourhoods. Independent evaluation is clearly necessary to find out if the programme is really making a difference, and targets have to be part of that. It is possible to make direct comparisons, to gauge the extent to which targets are being met. With measurable targets it's important to know if definite progress has been made.
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