Written question asked by Lindsay Hoyle (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 November 2009. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Thursday, 8 April 2010 on behalf of the Treasury.

Children: Day Care

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what information his Department holds on the number of childcare providers in (a) Chorley constituency and (b) Lancashire who take part in the childcare voucher scheme.

Answer: I have been asked to reply.The information requested is not available, as employers and employees are not required to report the provision of tax exempt child care vouchers.However, research commissioned by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2005, by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and available at:"http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/research-report23.htm"estimates the proportion of employers that offer Employer Supported Childcare (ESC) split by Government office region (Table A.7, Appendix A, page 19).These numbers should be treated with caution as the employee take up rate and use of vouchers as opposed to other forms of ESC would likely vary from region to region and these figures do not account for employees working in one region and living in another. No estimates are made for Chorley constituency or Lancashire.

Secondary information