Under-fives Education (Hansard, 7 February 1994)

§ Mr. Austin-Walker
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a table showing(a) the component of standard spending assessment which is notionally attributed to the education of under-fives, (b) the actual expenditure on education of under-fives for each of the London boroughs for the most recent year that figures are available, (c) the number of children under five in maintained schools and (d) the percentage of under-fives in (i) nursery classes and nursery schools and (ii) infant classes, as a percentage of the under-five-years population.

§ Mr. Robin Squire
The information requested which is available is set out in the table. Reliable data on expenditure for under-fives are not available at the level of individual local authorities.

£ million

(a) Under-fives component of education SSAs 935.2

(c) Number of under-fives in maintained schools 656,193

(di) Percentage of under-fives population in nursery classes and nursery schools 26

(dii) Percentage of under-fives population in infant classes 24

Notes:
1. The information on pupil numbers is derived from the January 1993 schools census carried out by the Department. The figure is based on a head count of the number of part-time (329,944) and full-time (326,249) pupils aged three and four on 31 August 1992.
The figures exclude pupils aged four on 31 August 1992 but whose fifth birthday fell between 1 September and 31 December as well as pupils aged under-five in maintained special schools.
3. The percentage rates have been calculated using information on the under-fives population supplied by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OCPS).

§ Mr. Austin-Walker
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a table showing the component of standard spending assessment which is notionally attributed to the education of under-fives, expressed as a per capita figure for each child under five years, and the actual expenditure on education for under-fives expressed as a per capita figure for(a) each child under five years in maintained schools and (b) each child under five years in the population.
84W

§ Mr. Robin Squire
We do not have precise figures for expenditure by local education authorities on under-fives in maintained schools, but we can estimate the costs at a national level. The latest year for which spending data is available is 1991–92. The table gives the figures all in relation to the 1991–92 financial year.

£

Standard assessment (SSA) per population under five¹ 260

Estimated expenditure on under fives in maintained schools per under five pupil² 1,650

Estimated expenditure on under fives in maintained schools per population under five¹ 340

¹ The divisor for this is the population 0–4 on 30 June 1989. This is the basis on which the 1991–92 under-fives SSA was distributed to LEAs.

² Both the expenditure and the pupil numbers relate to pupils who were aged four or less on 31 August. The pupil number divisor is a financial year average.

	£ million
(a) Under-fives component of education SSAs	935.2
(c) Number of under-fives in maintained schools	656,193
(di) Percentage of under-fives population in nursery classes and nursery schools	26
(dii) Percentage of under-fives population in infant classes	24

	£
Standard assessment (SSA) per population under five¹	260
Estimated expenditure on under fives in maintained schools per under five pupil²	1,650
Estimated expenditure on under fives in maintained schools per population under five¹	340
¹ The divisor for this is the population 0–4 on 30 June 1989. This is the basis on which the 1991–92 under-fives SSA was distributed to LEAs.
² Both the expenditure and the pupil numbers relate to pupils who were aged four or less on 31 August. The pupil number divisor is a financial year average.