§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science which local education authorities have now declined their allocation earmarked for providing nursery schools and classes; which local education authorities have built nursery education accommodation but are now unable or unwilling to pay the nursery teachers and nursery nurses needed to staff it; which local education authorities have decided to close down their nursery education accommodation making nursery teachers and nursery 340W nurses redundant; what action he intends to take; and what his estimate is of the number of nursery teachers and others who will be affected.
§ Mr. Fred MulleyTo date the local education authorities of Avon, Bromley, Croydon, Cumbria, Ealing, Hampshire, Isles of Scilly, Northumberland, Redbridge, Salop, Trafford and Wiltshire have relinquished the whole of their nursery education building allocation for 1975–76 while Bolton, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Coventry, Derbyshire, Havering, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk and West Sussex have relinquished part. For 1976–77 Cumbria, Leicestershire, Redbridge and Wiltshire have so far stated that they will take up none of their allocation, and Derbyshire part only. No local education authority has informed my Department of a decision not to use new nursery education accommodation in view of staffing costs but employment of staff is for individual authorities. None has notified a decision to close existing nursery education accommodation which would make nursery teachers and nursery nurses redundant.