§ 20. Miss Lestorasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now consider taking steps to involve education authorities in responsibilities for play groups.
§ Mr. CrossmanA circular issued last October drew the attention of local health authorities to the desirability of seeking assistance from officers of the local education authority in supervising play groups.
§ Miss LestorMay I remind my right hon. Friend that the Pre-school Play Group Association is using this week to highlight the fact that there are 116,000 children under the age of 5 in groups under its care, and that the co-operation of his Department and the Department of Education and Science is needed to provide financial assistance and training 25 courses if the Association is to meet the needs of those children who are deprived of nursery school education?
§ Mr. CrossmanI am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing the attention of the House to this matter, which is a considerable social problem.