To ask the Minister of Education whether he has any plans to review the process for accessing Sure Start services.

A recent independent review of Sure Start determined that the current arrangements for targeting support remain the most appropriate method to reach children facing disadvantage.

I recently brought 22 new areas into Sure Start which means that around 48% of children aged 0-3 (and their families) now have access to Sure Start services. Further expansion will be considered within the Executive’s Early Learning and Childcare Strategy and will be dependent on additional funding being made available by the Executive and the capacity of the early years workforce.