Parental neglect in some Wirral households is so acute that children are starting school without knowing their own names.

The stunning revelation was made yesterday by Birkenhead MP Frank Field in a House of Commons debate.

He also claimed some children have never seen a book and do not even know what one is, they cannot hold a crayon nor can they dress themselves.

The Labour MP, who has represented Birkenhead since 1979, carried out extensive research as Prime Minister David Cameron's poverty adviser.

Mr Field said he sees young people in Birkenhead who are so neglected by their parents "that I wonder whether I would survive if I were subjected to the things they are exposed to."

During a discussion on the future of Sure Start Children's Centres, 250 of which are earmarked for closure under Government cutbacks, Mr Field said he asked the head "of a really good school" in Birkenhead what ten things he wanted from children attending school on their first day.

Mr Field told the House he had asked the headmaster: "What skills did he need? He shared this exercise with his teachers and with other schools, and not only in the Birkenhead area.

"There were some stunning replies.

"The schools would like the children to know their own names; to know the word 'stop', because that can hint at danger for them.

"They would like them to learn to sit still, so they can begin playing properly and by that learn; to learn how to take off certain items of clothing; to learn how to hold a crayon; to know what a book is and how to open it the right way.

"This is not a school in Birkenhead that is one the most 'challenged', as we must euphemistically call it.

"It is a school where, 20 years ago, I first learned that mums would lie about their addresses to get their children into a better school than they would otherwise be allocated."

He continued: "While lying is of course wrong, I could not but have a sneaking admiration for those mothers who were acting in this way, and who knew in a ration-book economy what little chance they had to choose the best services for their children.

"So although this is not the most challenged school, even after Sure Start - in fact, it was one of the first Sure Starts in the country and has been operating for 10 years - we were still finding children who were highly-unprepared for school."

The Sure Start centres provide advice and support for parents and carers.

Their services are available to parents from pregnancy right through to when their child goes into reception class at primary school.

There are more than 3,600 such children’s centres in England.

In Wirral, there are 16 centres, and their funding has been secured in the ruling council coalition's budget.

A £700,000 allocation was agreed earlier this week and each centre is to receive an extra £2,000 for new equipment.

More than 3,000 local families – a total of 5,800 adults and children - used the services between October and December last year.