§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she will take to give further encouragement to employers to provide child care facilities for employees' children.
§ Mr. YeoIt is for employers to consider the business case for providing a child care service, to help recruit, retain and support the career development of the work force.
The new review duty, introduced by the Children Act 1989, provides a legislative framework for local child care 775W plans, which involve all local interests, including employers and parents, in looking at the existing child care services and identifying priorities for future expansion.
The Department of Health is spending £1½ million over three years starting in 1992–93 to pump prime expansion of child care services for school age children. The Employment Department is planning to spend up to £45 million over three years starting in 1993–94 through training and enterprise councils in promoting child care for school age children.