Prime minister Tony Blair made the announcement last week, the day after chancellorof the exchequer Gordon Brown's Comprehensive Spending Review.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Blair said he had asked Baroness Ashton to take on the new role and she would be appointed jointly to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DfWP) 'to ensure that our early years and childcare vision delivers on both our educational and employment objectives'.
Baroness Ashton will be in charge of the new interdepartmental unit being set up within the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), and will be responsible for early years education, childcare and Sure Start in England.
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