To ask the Minister of Education whether he will create a process that allows for re-profiling of available funding across all 38 Sure Start projects, as opposed to within each individual project, as recommended in the Review of Department of Education Targeted Early Years Interventions.

Additional funding provided by the Executive for early learning and childcare has enabled me to approve continuation of Sure Start provision in the 153 legacy Super Output Areas (SOAs) as recommended in the Review of Targeted Early Interventions report. I have also approved the permanent expansion of Sure Start to an additional 22 SOAs which had been included on a temporary basis since May 2021.

The Department of Health (DoH) is responsible for the administration of Sure Start on behalf of my Department. My officials have been engaging with DoH colleagues to refine current processes and enable reprofiling of available budget across all Sure Start projects.

The recommendation to provide flexible funding for Sure Start projects of five per cent on top of the existing budget to meet need outside of catchment areas will require consideration in the longer term and be subject to available budget.