Cameron plans to bring 'spirit of enterprise' to Sure Start
Charlotte Goddard
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
David Cameron has set out Conservative plans to focus Sure Start more heavily on early intervention, reaching the disadvantaged, and better involving the voluntary sector in a speech to think-tank Demos.
The Conservative leader said his party would contract "self-governing" independent organisations, such as Home-Start and 4Children, which would be partly paid by results, to run children's centres. Comparing Sure Start to the academies programme he said: "We will bring a new focus, and a new spirit of enterprise and innovation to early years support."
Cameron reiterated the Conservative's commitment to increasing the number of Sure Start health visitors by 4,200, and said they would play a vital role in encouraging good parenting.
He said although the party was committed to Sure Start "it isn't working as well as it should. There is little accountability in how Sure Start money is spent so the funding doesn't necessarily follow the support programmes that work."
Cameron also said Sure Start did not have enough "diversity of provision, because the voluntary sector and other community organisations have been crowded out" and that funding was confusing.
