Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and David Crausby

Tuesday 19th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Whether he is moustachioed or otherwise, I always enjoy the hon. Gentleman’s questions, although I usually wait for a sting in the tail, which did not quite come this week as it did last time. I am always grateful for his support in whatever qualified form it is provided.

[Mr David Crausby (Bolton North East) (Lab)]

T8. Sure Start is such a great idea that it will not go away, despite the coalition’s efforts. What will the Deputy Prime Minister say to all those children across the country who are denied a place as a result of cutbacks to fund tax cuts for millionaires?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As I have said, in the final financial year of this Parliament the amount of money we have provided is actually going up from £2.3 billion to £2.5 billion, and more parents are accessing children’s centres than ever before. There has been a closure of 1.2% of children’s centres across the country, but at the same time we have provided hundreds of millions of pounds of extra support to help small children before they even go to school, providing for the first time ever a universal entitlement of 15 hours of pre-school support to all three and four-year-olds, and 15 hours of pre-school support to two-year-olds from the poorest families in this country. I hoped the hon. Gentleman would have welcomed that.