§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he intends to take on the report by his Department on racism in nursery schools and playgrounds.
§ Mr. John Patten[pursuant to his reply, 10 December 1984, c. 381]: I assume that the question refers to the recently published report on provision for under-fives from ethnic minority communities, copies of which are in the Library. The report, which is not about racism, was commissioned by the inter-departmental consultative 544W group on provision for under-fives, jointly with representatives of the local authority associations, the National Association of Health Authorities, and voluntary organisations working in the under-fives field. The commissioning bodies decided that the report should be made widely available without charge, which has been arranged by the Department, and that there should be a series of regional seminars further to disseminate the report's recommendations. The National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations has agreed to make arrangements for such seminars next year, with some financial support from this Department.