Clause 5 - Power to amend sections 2 and 4
Childcare Bill
9:30 am
Beverley Hughes (Minister of State (Children, Young People and Families), Department for Education and Skills; Stretford and Urmston, Labour)
I shall preface my comments by saying that the first five clauses are important to the “Every Child Matters” programme. In practice, their combined effect is to give Sure Start services statutory underpinning, with statutory guidance explaining how the duties are to be achieved through the children’s centre way of working. It is important to appreciate that.
Clause 5 allows the Secretary of State to alter by order the definition of “early childhood services” in clause 2 and, if necessary, to make consequential changes to the relevant partners who have to work together under clause 4. We recognise the potential importance of such changes. Clause 98 therefore requires that any order made under clause 5 is made by affirmative resolution. That will allow Parliament a full opportunity to debate such changes.
Clause 2 defines “early childhood services” for the purposes of clause 3 and sets out how those services must be delivered. Those services must be integrated, they must reach out to excluded families and they must involve parents and providers. The clause focuses on those key services relating to young children, parents and prospective parents that are essential to delivering the Sure Start children’s centre model. The model is for parents, from the moment they know that they are expecting a baby; it will give them a coherent pattern of child health, integrated child care and education, family support services, some free at the point of delivery and some subsidised according to income. We are defining those services because research has shown that they are vital to improving outcomes, which is at the heart of part 1.
We obviously do not have any plans to use the power to make changes, but we recognise that we may need to amend, remove or add to the services to which the clauses apply. Having the power to do so will give us the flexibility to recognise and respond to the changing needs of families over time.
The hon. Gentleman asked for some examples. Changes may be needed for a variety of reasons: to reflect new policies, alterations in how services are configured, or legal changes. For example, emerging research or evidence of best practice might require us to refine or take a different approach to child care and early childhood services. We want to create a framework in which it is possible to respond, with appropriate safeguards through an affirmative procedure, to any emerging issues.