Government announces commission on early intervention

An independent commission into early intervention, which aims to ensure that children at greatest risk of multiple disadvantage get the best start in life, will be chaired by Graham Allen MP, the Government has announced.

The commission will look at and recommend the best models for early intervention and advise on how these could be extended to all parts of the country. It will also consider how such schemes could be supported through innovative funding models, including through non-government streams.

The enquiry is being commissioned as one of the first pieces of work to be remitted to the Social Justice Cabinet Committee, chaired by Iain Duncan Smith.

In an unusual acceptance statement for the role of chair, Mr Allen, Labour MP for Nottingham North, described the role as a "burden". 

"I am taking on this added burden not for sectional interest or to score political points but to improve the life chances for people in constituencies like mine. Nottingham has proved we can intervene successfully. Now we not only need to prove we can take early intervention to a national level, we also need to find inventive ways to fund it in a time of economic drought," Mr Allen said. 

The review will report by the end of January 2011 on the issue of best practice and provide an interim report on funding. A final report on funding will be produced by May 2011.