§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much her Department spends on child care; on what provision the sum is spent; how many children receive the child care; and if she will make a statement about child care.
§ Mr. JackThe Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is committed to making every effort to help with the provision of child care provided a value for money case can be made to support the need for such facilities. Currently, there are some 48 nursery places for children aged between six months and five years, and some 100 holiday play scheme places for children aged between four and 14 years.
The Ministry has a purpose-built 40-place nursery at its Guildford site and a 30-place nursery is due to open at its new King's Pool site in York this autumn. Also, a 33-place nursery is under construction at the central science laboratory's new site at Sand Hutton, near York, which is due to open in 1996.
In addition a survey is being carried out at all offices in the Ministry currently without child care facilities to assess the level of demand. All options for child care will be considered including general advice on facilities available locally and participation in nurseries and play schemes run by other organisations.
The amount spent on child care is not available centrally.