§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the reasons for the different levels of funding between local authorities for provision for the under-fives.
§ Mr. Robin SquireIt is for local authorities to determine their own priorities between and within services. The different levels of funding between local authorities on under-fives reflects those different priorities.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will allow local education authorities to spend more on the under-fives.
§ Mr. Robin SquireWithin general spending constraints, local authorities are free to determine their own expenditure on under-fives.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the criteria for establishing that a local education authority has underspent on the provision for the under-fives.
§ Mr. Robin SquireA notional allowance for under-fives provision is made in each authority's education standard spending assessment, based on its resident under-fives population. How local authorities use that notional allowance is a matter for the discretion of each local authority. Neither education SSAs nor the sub-blocks within them are spending targets.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to make the provision of funding for the under-fives dependent on the number of under-fives in school.
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe level and nature of provision for under-fives is a matter for the discretion of each local education authority. A notional allowance to support such provision is made in each authority's education standard spending assessment, based on its resident under-fives population. There are no current proposals to change the basis, although standard spending assessments are reviewed each year.