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Childcare Bill

The hon. Lady makes a valuable point about her experience in her constituency. She might be aware, however, as I am sure that the Secretary of State is, that a research report by Birkbeck college has examined the effectiveness of the Sure Start scheme. That report has not been published, despite the fact that it was due to be published in September. When the Minister winds up the debate, perhaps she can tell the House why the publication of that report was delayed, and when it is going to be available. Newspaper reports have suggested that far from Sure Start having the impact on children’s development that the Government intended, the report’s findings were that it had had no discernible effect on the children that it was supposed to be helping. We have supported Sure Start, even though we would want to make changes to it, but if the Minister wants that support to continue, she must publish the evidence and let us judge for ourselves. I hope that she will provide a date for the publication of that report when she speaks later. If we are to invest a large amount of taxpayer’s money in helping parents with child care, we must ensure that that provides value for money.