§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what information he has about the number of unfilled or partially filled vacancies for nursery teachers in inner London;
(2) if he has any evidence of a shortage of suitably qualified nursery teachers in (a) England and Wales and (b) Inner London; what steps he is taking to remedy the situation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe recent report by Her Majesty's inspectorate on the effects of local authority expenditure policies on education provisions in England, 1985, points to evidence of shortages of qualified nursery teachers in some parts of the country. I do not have the figures for unfilled or partially filled vacancies for nursery teachers in the Inner London education authority but understand that this authority may be one of the worst affected.
As for the steps taken by the Government, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer of 14 April, at columns 228–29, by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, North-East (Sir K. Joseph) to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Leighton) and to my own answer of 10 June, at column 154, to my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Mr. Wardle).
For the position in Wales, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.