§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the relative positions of each member state of the European Community in respect of the provision of child care and nursery education.
§ Mr. ForthIt is not possible to offer comprehensive comparisons across the European Community but statistical comparisons of educational and group day care provision in a majority of EC states are available for 1987. Figures for participation in public and private sector provision in that year are as follows:
Percentages1 Education Day Care 3–4 3–5 3–4 3–5 Belgium 96 97 5— 5— France 98 99 5— 5— Germany 56 66 5— 5— Ireland 30 354 n/a 14 Italy (Estimated) 78 81 5— 5— Luxembourg (Estimated) 49 65 6n/a 6n/a Netherlands 51 67 25 417 Spain 53 70 5— 5— United Kingdom 45 64 241 227 1Percentages of population, aged at 1 January. 2Estimated (avoiding double counting with education). 3For 1985. 4For 1983. 5—nil or negligible. 6n/a not available. Only the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have compulsory full-time education from the age of five; in the other countries quoted this begins at six.