HL Deb 02 February 1994 vol 551 cc98-9WA
Lord Holme of Cheltenham

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much it would cost them to provide nursery education to all children from the age of three.

Baroness Blatch

The cost would depend for example on the type of provision and the balance between full-time and part-time attendance. If all 3 and 4 year-olds took up full-time places in state-funded nursery education, the total estimated recurrent costs would be of the order of well over £2 billion a year for the UK. This figure excludes capital, teacher training and pupil transport costs. At present half of all 3 and 4 year-olds receive full or part-time education in state funded nursery and primary schools in the UK.