§ Mrs. HumbleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many(a)free nursery and (b)pre-school places were available for (i) three and (ii) four-year-olds in Blackpool North and Fleetwood in each of the last seven years. [176205]
§ Margaret HodgeThe information is not available in the form requested.
Figures on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in Blackpool local education authority area are shown in the table.
The latest figures on provision for three and four year-olds in England were published in a Statistical Bulletin 'Provision for children under five years of age in England January 2003' which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
From April 2004, six months ahead of our original target, all three-year -olds in England whose parents want one, are eligible for a free, part-time early education place.
Number of free nursery education places1,2 taken up by three and four-year-old children in maintained nursery and primary schools
and private, voluntary and independent providers
Blackpool local education authority area: 1997–2003
Position in January each year
Three-year-olds Four-year-olds 1997 500 1,600 1998 500 1,600 1999 300 1,500 2000 1,600 1,400 2001 1,400 1,600 2002 1,400 1,600 2003 1,400 1,600 1Part-time equivalent number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four-year-old children. 2A free nursery education place comprises five two and a half hour sessions of early years education per week, for thirty-three weeks of the year, usually three terms of eleven weeks.