Oral Answers to Questions

Sandy Martin Excerpts

Monday 25th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Anne Milton]

This is absolutely crucial. Obviously, someone who cannot speak English will be at a disadvantage. We have done a great deal more to improve the roll-out of ESOL. On the work we are doing in primary schools, the proportion of six-year-olds meeting expected standards in the phonics screening check has risen dramatically.

[Sandy Martin (Ipswich) (Lab)]

20. What recent assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness of children’s centres and (b) ability of families to access those centres.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Nadhim Zahawi)]

It is right that local councils decide how they spend on children’s centres. Our priority is to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children overall. It is not just about bricks and mortar, but about using and improving evidence about what works.

[Sandy Martin]

Given that there are now at least 1,240 fewer designated Sure Start children’s centres than there were in 2010, will the Department commit to retaining the remaining two thirds of the original centres and invest in improving the range of services they offer?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

This Government are spending £6 billion on childcare. It is not just about bricks and mortar. There are 2,300 children’s centres and they are very much part of the overall picture, but we will do what works. We have committed £8.5 million for councils to peer review each other, to see what is actually working. I hope that, like the Government, the hon. Gentleman is interested in outcomes rather than just bricks and mortar.