Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children's centres there were in (a) 2010 and (b) 2016.

Local authorities have a duty to ensure there are sufficient centres to meet local need; and a duty to consult where changes are planned to local children’s centre provision.

In 2010 there were 3,615 children’s centres[1]. On 30 September 2016, local authorities listed as being in operation 3,265 main children’s centres and sites open to families and children providing children's centre services as part of a network.

Children’s centre records are maintained by local authorities and are made publicly available via the department’s “EduBase portal” at: http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/home.xhtml

[1] The total number of children’s centres in 2010 was originally reported as 3,631. However, a data-cleansing exercise carried out by the department in 2013 found that 15 of the children’s centres local authorities had entered onto the children’s centre database did not subsequently open and that there was one duplicate record on the database. The revised total of 3615 was announced on 18 December 2013 in replies to parliamentary questions 176910 and 177099 available at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131218/text/131218w0002.htm