Education written question – answered at on 27 November 2012.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of Sure Start children's centres which have ceased providing on-site day care since May 2010.
In the past, children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas but not elsewhere were required to provide full day care. In 2010, the Government removed the requirement for children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas to provide full day care where there was no demand.
The Department for Education collects information on the provision of child care through the annual Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey. This information allows us to estimate the number of Sure Start children's centres providing full day care provision on site. Estimates from the survey show that in 2010 the number of children's centres providing on-site full day care was 800 and that in 2011 this figure had fallen to 550. The 2011 survey indicates that increases in the broader supply of full day care provision may have impacted on demand for provision specifically based in children's centres. The survey estimates that between 2010 and 2011 the number of full day care providers increased from 16,700 to 17,600.
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