§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the number of workplaces for civil servants in his Ministry; what proportion of the total number have an on-site nursery facility; how many and568W what proportion of workplaces provide a holiday play scheme; how many and what proportion of workplaces provide after-school child care facilities; what charges are made for use of any facility; what the net cost has been for the provision of these facilities; and what estimate he can make of any future expenditure.
§ Mr. CurryThis Department has some 160 offices and laboratories of which about 40 have over 50 staff. Child care facilities are available for the children of staff working in about one fifth of the latter. The first workplace nursery opens on 2 April at Guildford. Holiday play scheme facilities are available in eight locations—namely, Exeter, Guildford, Leeds, Nottingham, Westminster, Weybridge, Wolverhampton, and Worcester and a further scheme starts in Bristol this Easter. Currently there are no facilities available for after-school child care.
Charges for play schemes range around about £5 per child per day; the Guildford nursery plans to charge between £40 to £50 per child per week. In respect of costs, it is estimated that the Guildford nursery will show a positive return in 1994, setting fees and savings derived from the anticipated reduction in staff turnover against management and running costs of about £200,000 per year. As for play schemes, most are run in conjunction with other Government Departments or organisations. Net cost figures are not readily available, but start-up costs can range up to about £3,000.
I cannot estimate overall future expenditure but I am planning for more provision for nursery places in central London and Bristol.