§ 12. Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many nursery school places are at present provided by each local education authority in England and Wales; and what percentage these figures represent of the population in each area aged under five years.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeI shall, with permission, circulate the figures in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. MeacherIn view of the crucial and, perhaps, overriding influence of the pre-school years and the still disgraceful lack of provision of nursery places, will the Minister institute a crash programme of nursery school building on priority criteria like the Plowden E.P.A. scheme?
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeNo, Sir. The essence of good administration in these matters is priority—some admirable examples of that priority working out have been given already in Questions today—and the Government have no intention of varying the priorities which they have already laid down.
§ Sir H. Legge-BourkeBearing in mind that it was one of the Conservative Party's election pledges to increase the number of nursery schools, will my hon. Friend say whether, in the context of the figures he is about to publish, he is satisfied that the rural areas are having a fair allocation?
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeWith respect, I suggest that it might be helpful if my hon. Friend had an opportunity to look at the figures, which, as he will understand, are very extensive. There is a certain discrepancy between various types of area.
§ Dame Joan VickersIn making his surveys, will my hon. Friend let us know how many places are supplied by voluntary organisations?
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeI shall gladly see whether I can provide that information for my hon. Friend.
§ Following are the figures:
| Local Education Authority | Number of pupils under 5 in maintained nursery schools and classes in January, 1970 | Figures in column 1 expressed as a percentage of births in 1965 and 1966 |
| (1) | (2) | |
| Bedfordshire | 251 | 2.1 |
| Berkshire | 879 | 4.8 |
| Buckinghamshire | 1,855 | 9.0 |
| Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely | 889 | 9.4 |
| Cheshire | 295 | 0.8 |
| Cornwall | 66 | 0.6 |
| Cumberland | 101 | 1.3 |
| Derbyshire | 765 | 2.8 |
| Devon | 47 | 0.3 |
| Dorset | 352 | 3.4 |
| Durham | 2,832 | 8.2 |
| Essex | 632 | 1.6 |
| Local Education Authority | Number of pupils under 5 in maintained nursery schools and classes in January, 1970 | Figures in column I expressed as a percentage of births in 1965 and 1966 |
| (1) | (2) | |
| Gloucestershire | 85 | 0.4 |
| Hampshire | 60 | 0.2 |
| Herefordshire | 91 | 1.9 |
| Hertfordshire | 2,523 | 8.3 |
| Huntingdon and Peterborough | 231 | 3.3 |
| Isle of Wight | — | — |
| Isle of Scilly | — | — |
| Kent | 410 | 0.9 |
| Lancashire | 3,387 | 4.0 |
| Leicestershire | 33 | 0.2 |
| Lincolnshire— | ||
| Holland | 13 | 0.4 |
| Kesteven | 106 | 2.0 |
| Lindsey | 146 | 1.1 |
| Norfolk | 372 | 2.8 |
| Northamptonshire | 230 | 2.0 |
| Northumberland | 32 | 0.2 |
| Nottinghamshire | 207 | 0.9 |
| Oxfordshire | 274 | 2.9 |
| Rutland | 9 | 0.9 |
| Shropshire (Salop) | 223 | 1.9 |
| Somerset | 169 | 0.9 |
| Staffordshire | 831 | 2.8 |
| Suffolk, East | 187 | 2.4 |
| Suffolk, West | 70 | 1.3 |
| Surrey | 889 | 2.8 |
| Sussex, East | 285 | 2.5 |
| Sussex, West | 356 | 2.8 |
| Warwickshire | 549 | 2.6 |
| Westmorland | 208 | 10.2 |
| Wiltshire | 98 | 0.5 |
| Worcestershire | 143 | 0.9 |
| Yorkshire— | ||
| East Riding | 59 | 0.8 |
| North Riding | 100 | 0.6 |
| West Riding | 3,161 | 5.0 |
| Barnsley | 913 | 31.3 |
| Barrow-in-Furness | 177 | 7.8 |
| Bath | 99 | 3.9 |
| Birkenhead | 348 | 6.3 |
| Birmingham | 2,712 | 6.3 |
| Blackburn | 343 | 9.6 |
| Blackpool | — | — |
| Bolton | 1,247 | 22.7 |
| Bootle | 103 | 3.2 |
| Bournemouth | 26 | 0.7 |
| Bradford | 1,259 | 11.3 |
| Brighton | 657 | 13.6 |
| Bristol | 2,197 | 14.8 |
| Burnley | 834 | 33.0 |
| Burton-upon-Trent | 83 | 4.0 |
| Bury | 49 | 1.9 |
| Canterbury | 30 | 2.8 |
| Carlisle | — | — |
| Chester | 183 | 8.3 |
| Coventry | 581 | 4.4 |
| Darlington | 516 | 17.9 |
| Derby | 479 | 10.0 |
| Dewsbury | 580 | 32.5 |
| Doncaster | 286 | 10.0 |
| Dudley | 225 | 3.7 |
| Eastbourne | — | — |
| Exeter | 68 | 2.3 |
| Local Education Authority | Number of pupils under 5 in maintained nursery schools and classes in January, 1970 | Figures in column 1 expressed as a percentage of births in 1965 and 1966 |
| (1) | (2) | |
| Gateshead | 96 | 2.6 |
| Gloucester | 32 | 1.1 |
| Great Yarmouth | 84 | 5.5 |
| Grimsby | 304 | 8.4 |
| Halifax | 369 | 11.0 |
| Hartlepool | 200 | 6.3 |
| Hastings | 57 | 3.1 |
| Huddersfield | 158 | 3.2 |
| Ipswich | 79 | 1.8 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 478 | 4.2 |
| Leeds | 377 | 2.1 |
| Leicester | 2,716 | 26.8 |
| Lincoln | 164 | 6.2 |
| Liverpool | 1,643 | 5.9 |
| Luton | 396 | 5.6 |
| Manchester | 4,829 | 19.7 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 196 | 2.3 |
| Northampton | 373 | 8.2 |
| Norwich | 232 | 6.2 |
| Nottingham | 1,389 | 11.5 |
| Oldham | 242 | 5.9 |
| Oxford | 732 | 20.9 |
| Plymouth | 126 | 1.7 |
| Portsmouth | 91 | 1.3 |
| Preston | 98 | 2.5 |
| Reading | 571 | 11.5 |
| Rochdale | 492 | 15.2 |
| Rotherham | 219 | 6.8 |
| St. Helens | 191 | 5.3 |
| Salford | 624 | 10.8 |
| Sheffield | 1,347 | 8.0 |
| Solihull | — | — |
| Southampton | 181 | 2.4 |
| Southend-on-Sea | 57 | 1.2 |
| Southport | 456 | 20.7 |
| South Shields | 108 | 2.9 |
| Stockport | 275 | 5.3 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 2,154 | 24.2 |
| Sunderland | 238 | 3.4 |
| Teesside | 364 | 3.2 |
| Torbay | 83 | 2.5 |
| Tynemouth | 231 | 8.4 |
| Wakefield | 197 | 10.3 |
| Wallasey | 65 | 1.8 |
| Walsall | 256 | 3.9 |
| Warley | 514 | 9.4 |
| Warrington | 414 | 14.6 |
| West Bromwich | 546 | 9.0 |
| Wigan | 238 | 9.1 |
| Wolverhampton | 581 | 5.7 |
| Worcester | 74 | 3.0 |
| York | 228 | 6.8 |
| Barking | 237 | 5.0 |
| Barnet | 655 | 6.8 |
| Bexley | 165 | 2.2 |
| Brent | 541 | 4.2 |
| Bromley | 75 | 0.8 |
| Croydon | 257 | 2.3 |
| Ealing | 1,128 | 101 |
| Enfield | 763 | 9.0 |
| Haringey | 723 | 6.5 |
| Harrow | 165 | 2.5 |
| Havering | 75 | 0.9 |
| Hillingdon | 567 | 7.4 |