HC Deb 11 January 2001 vol 360 cc1219-20
2. Mr. Gareth R. Thomas (Harrow, West)

What action he is taking to improve the regulation and funding of after-school clubs. [143459]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Ms Margaret Hodge)

The new opportunities fund is providing £170 million to help to set up out-of-school care for 865,000 children in the UK by 2003. From April, a new and additional £155 million will be available from the fund, part of which will be for out-of-school clubs. Day care regulation will transfer from local authorities to Ofsted in September 2001, which, with new national standards, will ensure improved consistency in the regulation and quality of day care for out-of-school clubs and other providers.

Mr. Thomas

I welcome my hon. Friend's answer, particularly the news about the new funding. Is she aware that after-school clubs are currently seen in law as child care provision and that the schools in which they are based cannot legally be seen to run them? Does she recognise that that is causing much unnecessary additional work for the schools in which such clubs are based, particularly the excellent Vaughan first and middle school in my constituency, which has made representations to me? What action will my hon. Friend take to remedy that problem?

Ms Hodge

I thank my hon. Friend for that question and congratulate his authority on the great progress that it has made in meeting our national targets on child care. I am aware of the problem of schools having to set up separate bodies to run out-of-school clubs. We hope that by taking through Parliament by early next year the Bill dealing with deregulation, we can change that so that schools will have the permission—not the duty—to set up out-of-school clubs, if they so wish.