§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what comparative assessment she has made of provision of the proportion of children in publicly funded pre-school education in the United Kingdom and in each other EU country.
§ Mr. ForthThe United Kingdom is one of only three countries in the European Union where universal state education starts at the age of five; elsewhere, it is at the age of six or seven. Although data exist for participation rates in most of the countries of the European Union, they do not compare like with like because they do not, for example, clearly distinguish between education and child care, or take account of whether parents are required to contribute towards the cost.
The Secretary of State has set up a task force to plan the implementation of the Prime Minister's commitment to provide, over time, good quality pre-school places for all four-year-olds whose parents wish them to take up. Comparative assessment of international provision is part of their work.