§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what account he takes of the need for, or number of places currently provided in, nursery education in inner city areas when calculating his standard spending assessment for relevant local authorities; and if he will state the arithmetic or other formula used for any such calculations.
§ Mr. KeyProvision for nursery education is made within the standard spending assessment for under-fives education. This is based on the numbers of children aged 641W under five resident in each relevant authority with allowances for extra costs associated with additional educational needs and higher costs in London and the south-east. Details are given in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England), which is in the Library.