§ 22. Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she intends seeking powers to 227 encourage local authorities to extend nursery provisions.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonMy right hon. Friend is continuing to make resources available through the nursery education building programme, but the rate of expansion must depend on the willingness of local education authorities to take up their allocations.
§ Mr. WainwrightWill the hon. Lady assure the House that she is providing local authorities with the best and most up-to-date advice on the extent to which well-directed expenditure on nursery education may avoid expenditure in later years on remedial education?
§ Miss JacksonWe are all convinced of the value of nursery education, but all we can do is to make the resources available to local education authorities since it is in their discretion how they spend money allotted to them.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonWhat is the Minister's definition of "socially deprived"? I agree with the comments made by the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Wainwright), but is it not true that socially-deprived areas are those mainly controlled by Socialists and that this might be a form of election engineering?
§ Miss JacksonIt is more a realisation on the part of those who live in socially-deprived areas as to where their interests lie rather than any question of social engineering. Members of the Labour Party believe that in every part of the country there are children who will benefit from nursery education and that children in socially-deprived areas are likely to benefit the more where the need is greatest. If that was what the hon. Gentleman was trying to say, I agree with him.