§ Dame Joan Vickersasked the Minister of Health what was, in respect of each of the last five years for which figures are available, the number of children and for at playgroups and other registered privately-provided child-minding establishments; what percentage rate of increase these figures represent; what further increase he expects in the present year; and to what extent such further increase is likely to be affected by the 19W imposition of the Selective Employment Tax.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonThe number of places, and percentage increases in them, provided at premises registered under the Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation Act 1948 in England and Wales are as follows:
Year Number of places Percentage increase over previous year 1961 … … 17,618 — 1962 … … 22,591 28 per cent. 1963 … … 31,045 37 per cent. 1964 … … 38,144 23 per cent. 1965 … … 55,543 46 per cent. I regret that the remaining information asked for is not available centrally. It is not possible to forecast any effect that the Selective Employment Tax might have.