§ 2. Mr. HeppellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will estimate how many play groups have gone out of business as a result of the nursery voucher scheme. [7052]
§ The Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mrs. Gillian Shephard)I expect the number of pre-schools in the nursery voucher scheme to fluctuate, as they open and close for a variety of reasons.
§ Mr. HeppellWill the Secretary of State acknowledge that, far from broadening parental choice, the voucher scheme has led to the closure of nurseries and play groups in both the voluntary and the private sector. Does that not erode the choice available to parents?
§ Mrs. ShephardThe hon. Gentleman should understand the position. A number of pre-schools have left the scheme, but that is because of the cyclical nature of admissions to school. The number of four-year-olds drops in the autumn term because many schools have long-established policies of admitting children at the start of the year in which they turn five. Therefore, there will be fewer parents of four-year-olds looking for places for their children in voluntary and private provision in the autumn term. Pre-schools and others are used to that pattern. I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman is surprised.
§ Mr. RiddickIs my right hon. Friend aware that one of the reasons why play groups face some problems in the pilot areas is that the legal limit for the pupil-teacher ratio is lower in private play groups than in those funded by local education authorities? Is she aware that the chief inspector of schools told the Select Committee last week that he considered it important to have a level playing field and to ensure that parents were given genuine freedom to choose? Will my right hon. Friend examine the position?
§ Mrs. ShephardSchools should certainly think carefully before taking large numbers of young four-year-olds into reception classes, but the type of service that they provide for that age group will be scrutinised carefully in the course of the Office for Standards in Education inspections.
§ Ms Estelle MorrisWill the Secretary of State confirm that £56 million was cut from the nursery voucher scheme in the Budget, and that her Department's explanation is that it changed its mind about the number of four-year-olds in the population? If that is the case, rather than giving up £56 million from the Budget, why does the right hon. Lady not use the money to extend nursery education to the 56 per cent. of three-year-olds who are currently denied it?
§ Mrs. ShephardThere will be a place for every four-year-old whose parents want one, over time. We have been entirely consistent about that guarantee. I remind the hon. Lady and her hon. Friends that as recently as November the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle) said that under Labour three-year-olds 263 would be guaranteed places—only to have that denied by the financial fiasco of Labour's costings, which was revealed a few days later.