Children: Day Care

Mr. Laws
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much he expects his Department to spend on the Graduate Leader Fund in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo
The total amount for the Graduate Leader Fund, available over three years between 2008 and 2011, is £305 million. This is made up of £232 million for settings, routed via local authorities, and £73 million for the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to deliver Early Years Professional Status training and accreditation. Of the £305 million, the Department allocated £99 million in 2009-10 and currently plans to allocate £129 million in 2010-11. These allocations are included within the wider main revenue block of the Sure Start Early Years and Childcare Grant, which is ring-fenced to be spent on supporting the delivery of the Government's Ten Year Strategy for Childcare and the local authority duties set out in the Childcare Act 2006.

Local authorities have the discretion to decide how much is spent on each area of activity, such as the Graduate Leader Fund, in line with local priorities, providing it contributes to the early years experience of children in their area.