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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the change in the number of private day nurseries in the nursery education grant scheme as a result of the removal of the ring-fencing of the grants to local authorities. [155827] Margaret Hodge: The information is not available in the form requested. Day care figures for 2001 and earlier years for England and Government Office regions were published in DfES Statistical Bulletin 08/01 "Children's Day Care facilities at 31 March 2001", which is available in the Library and on the DfES website, www.dfes.gov.uk/ statistics. Latest childcare statistics were published in a report by OfSTED `Registered Childcare Providers and Places in England, 19 December 2003', which is available on the OfSTED web-site, www.ofsted.gov.uk/ publications. The numbers of providers and places recorded by OfSTED are not directly comparable with the previous data made available by the DfES because they were collected differently. The percentage of three and four year olds benefiting from free part-time early education in the private and voluntary sector has increased from 23 per cent. in January 2002 to 32 per cent. in January 2003. Growth in the full day care sector has been particularly strong over 2003-04. In March 387,000 places were available in the sector. By the end of December this had increased by 13 per cent. to 436,000.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

418 c1347W;418 c1349W; 155827

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Childcare Finance Grants Private sector Pre-school education Nurseries Voluntary organisations Ringfenced funding Nursery education grant scheme

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk