HC Deb 19 July 1995 vol 263 cc1341-2W
Ms Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much her Department spends on(a) child care provision for under-fives and (b) out of school provision for over fives, both directly, excluding provision for departmental staff, and indirectly through resources made available to local authorities and other organisations; what form of provision is provided; and how many full-time and part-time places are provided. [35555]

Mr. Robin Squire

Child care for the under-fives in England is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

For school-age children, we have allocated £45 million to the out-of-school child care initiative which will help create up to 50,000 additional child care places in Great Britain over the three years which began in April 1993. The initiative is being delivered by training and enterprise councils in England and Wales and local enterprise companies in Scotland. By the end of March 1995 some 26,000 child care places had been created in England with a further 5,000 in development, well on course to meet the planned target.

We do not hold information about the number of children who attend full or part-time, although attendance patterns are flexible to parents' needs.