§ Mr. Watkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how much was expended on nursery education by Gloucestershire County Council in each of the past four years;
(2) how much was spent on nursery education in each of the counties in the South West Region in 1977 and 1976 apart from Gloucestershire;
(3) what has been the education expenditure of each county in the South-West Region in 1977, 1976 and 1975.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonAnalyses of each local education authority's net recurrent expenditure are contained in annual publications of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, copies of which are available in the Library. The following figures have been extracted from "Education Statistics for 1975–76"; publications for years earlier than 1975–76 do not show separate figures for nursery education.
FINANCIAL YEAR 1975–76 (£000 at outturn prices) Nursery Total expenditure Avon … 681 96,603 Cornwall … 32 33,712 Devon … 29 82,562 Dorset … 81 52,057 Gloucestershire … 35 50,339 Somerset … 41 35,841 Wiltshire … 15 49,739 No CIPFA statistics of actual expenditure are available for later years but "Education Estimates Statistics" give the following figures of estimated expenditure.
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§ Mr. Kimballasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is aware of the Lincolnshire Education Committee's decision to pay one quarter of the running cost of a nursery unit at the Gainsborough North County Primary School and its request that the balance of the running costs should be found under the urban aid programme; and what reply has been sent.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonYes. This is one of many applications submitted for consideration under the urban programme for 1978–79. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment hopes to announce the list of projects approved by the end of May.