§ Mrs. Wiseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children attend playgroup and what proportion this is of the total number of children aged under five years; and what comparative figures there are for five years ago, 10 years ago, and 20 years ago.
§ Mr. MoyleStatistics of the number of children attending playgroups, which are largely voluntarily provided, are not held centrally. Numbers of children (1) attending local authority part time nursery groups and (2) attending registered premises where sessional care is provided are shown in the table below; similar information is not available for 1966 or earlier years.
figures there are for five years ago, 10 years ago, and 20 years ago.
§ Mr. MoyleThe number of places in local authority day nurseries and the number of children permitted in registered premises providing all day care are shown in the table:
679W
31st December 1959(1) 31st December 1966 31st December 1970(1) 31st March 1976(2) Type of Day Care Number of places/Children permitted (1,000's) Number of places/1,000 children under 5 Number of places/Children permitted (1,000's) Number of places/1,000 children under 5 Number of places/Children permitted (1,000's) Number of places/1,000 children under 5 Number of places/Children permitted (1,000's) Number of places/1,000 children under 5 Local Authorities Day Nurseries 23.0 6.7 21.2 5.1 21.6 5.4 27.0 7.8 Registered premises providing all day care Not available Not available 20.3 5.1 28.7 8.4 Total — — — — 41.9 10.5 55.7 16.2 Notes:
(1) Information is not available for 1956 or 1971.
(2) These figures are the latest available and are provisional.
(3) All figures relate to England and Wales.