To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department plans to produce regular reports on the outcomes and effectiveness of early years intervention work following the establishment of Sure Start Children's centres in every community beyond 2010. (222635)

The National Evaluation of Sure Start (NESS), undertaken by the University of Birkbeck, began in 2001 and focuses on the impact made by Sure Start Local Programmes, the precursor to Sure Start Children's Centres. Reports evaluating the impact of Sure Start on children and their families at nine months and three years of age are available at

www.ness.bbk.ac.uk.

The report from the current phase of the evaluation, assessing the impact when the children are five years old, is currently under way and we expect to publish the results in spring 2010. No decisions have been taken on whether this research should continue in the future.

The Department is considering arrangements for the evaluation of Sure Start Children's Centres currently.