§ 19. Mr. Lewisasked the Minister of Education whether, in view of the changed circumstances, she will now withdraw Circular No. 155 which was originally introduced by her Department in 1947.
§ Miss HorsbrughI would refer the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary gave to the hon. and learned Member for Northampton (Mr. Paget) on 15th April last.
§ Mr. LewisI do not know what that reply was, but the right hon. Lady has written to me on the matter. We appreciate that in the years immediately following the war the circular was no doubt necessary, but in view of the improvements brought about since 1947, particularly between 1947 and 1950, can she now see her way clear to withdraw the circular?
§ Miss HorsbrughThe hon. Gentleman has suggested that great improvements took place between 1947 and 1950, but my predecessor in the Ministry in 1950 did not think that it would be a good thing to withdraw the circular. As we all know, there has been a greater improvement since then. I am glad to be able to tell the hon. Member that in January, 1951, there were 454 nursery schools and by January, 1954, the number had risen to 477.