HC Deb 01 November 1994 vol 248 cc1332-3
1. Sir Thomas Arnold

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make a statement about nursery education.

The Secretary of State for Education (Mrs. Gillian Shephard)

I am implementing the Prime Minister's commitment to provide, over time, good quality pre-school places for all four-year-olds whose parents wish to take them up.

Sir Thomas Arnold

What specific steps have been taken to implement that excellent new initiative?

Mrs. Shephard

I have appointed a task force to take the work forward and to consult widely. I shall welcome ideas and information from all sectors, and already the Council of Local Education Authorities and the Pre-School Playgroups Association have provided information. My ministerial colleagues have also met with a number of groups.

Mr. Spearing

In view of the statement that the Secretary of State has just made, why do the Government continue to block the Nursery Education (Assessment of Needs) Bill, which I introduced in February but which has been blocked on at least 12 occasions since? It would place a duty on local education authorities to assess the need for nursery education, as introduced by an all-party Government in 1944 under R.A. Butler. Is not that needed now, and will the right hon. Lady please reconsider her decision?

Mrs. Shephard

I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are looking at a range of options for expansion, and a sound basis for that expansion will be provided by what already exists on the ground. A great deal of thought and work has gone into nursery provision, and we shall take account of the work that has been done by the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues.

Sir Malcolm Thornton

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on this initiative and draw her attention to one of the recommendations that the Education Select Committee makes in its excellent report on provision for under-fives concerning the need to ensure an appropriate curriculum for nursery education, as a mere extension downwards of the primary curriculum is far from sufficient?

Mrs. Shephard

The objective will be to provide education for the early years, and not child minding. The Office for Standards in Education will be asked to draw up educational criteria.

Mr. Blunkett

I congratulate the Secretary of State for Education on her appointment at the end of July, and I look forward to crossing ideological swords with her. How much will the initiative cost, and where will the money come from?

Mrs. Shephard

May I, in turn, congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment? I can reassure him that we are looking at a range of options for expansion, but we have not made a decision yet. The need for additional funding will be determined as part of the development of the policy, but it is new provision and there will be new money.