'Grey area' of Sure Start funding unacceptable, MPs say

According to a report published by the Children's, Schools and Families select committee today, information that would help assess the value for money of children's centres is "difficult to come by" although it concedes that work in this area is progressing.

The committee has been investigating the aims, successes and limitations of the Sure Start scheme so far. It also concluded that the total amount of money being spent on Sure Start centres is a "grey area".

It states: "In order to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and value for money of children's centres nationally, the government must make more effort to work out the totality of funding that is supporting centres, including resources from the Departments of Health and for Work and Pensions. It is unacceptable that such basic information remains apparently unknown."

MPs are now recommending that a greater effort is made by government to calculate expenditure on the programme and assess the success of each area's Sure Start work to help create a clearer national picture of the programme.

The committee also argued that cuts to the programme leading to "pruning" of services or closures of centres would be damaging. It states: "Either course of action would undermine the programme to an unacceptable degree and jeopardise the long-term gains from early intervention."

Last week the Department for Children, Schools and Families announced that children's centres and further education colleges would be expected to save a total of £150m to contribute to the government's £11bn saving drive announced in the Budget.

But in response to the select committee's report children's minister Dawn Primarolo has promised to protect long-term investment in the scheme. "Labour has pledged that Sure Start funding will rise in line with inflation up to 2013."