§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his 'Department spends on child-care provision for the under-fives and out-of-school provision for children aged over five either directly, excluding provision for departmental staff, or indirectly through resources made available to local authorities or other organisations; what form of provision is thereby provided; how many places are thereby provided; and if he will make a statement on child care.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 14 March 1994]: Good quality day care has a valuable part to play in the development of young children. Out-of-school care can help older children to develop a broad range of interests and to adopt a positive approach to the use of their leisure time.
The Scottish Office supports the provision of various forms of day care through the urban programme and through grants under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. In 1993–94 almost £7 million has been made available from these sources. Grants for out-of-school care projects are also available through local enterprise companies under the initiative launched last year by the Secretary of State for Employment.
Within the local authority expenditure settlement for 1993–94 provision of £30.37 million was made for day care for children.
The latest available information about the form and level of day care provision in Scotland is contained in the Scottish Office Bulletin "Services for Children 1991 and 1992", a copy of which has been placed in the Library.