§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) Germany, (c) France and (d) the USA have nursery places provided by (i) the Government sector and (ii) the non profit-making private sector.
§ Mr. Robin SquireInformation is not centrally available in the form requested. The table below shows the latest available information on combined public and private participation rates in pre-compulsory schooling. Separate participation rates are not available. There are also some differences between countries in the distinction drawn between education and day care. If the United Kingdom figures are defined to include nursery schools, nursery classes, infant classes, pre-school play groups and group day care, the participation rates for both three to four and three to five-year-olds increase to over 90 per cent.