On 19 May, I received an answer from my written question which was:

"To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made towards meeting the target of providing 3,500 children's centres by 2010."

The Minister responsible, Beverley Hughes, referred me to an answer she had given a colleague earlier in the day which was:

"There are currently 2,907 designated Sure Start children's centres offering services to more than 2 million children aged under five and their families. We met our manifesto commitment for 2,500 centres by March this year and we are on track to meet our target of 3,500 centres by 2010—one for every community."