HC Deb 17 July 1995 vol 263 cc975-8W
Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assumptions have been made in her current plans for nursery education vouchers for the redemption value of such vouchers; [34827]

(2) if a nursery education voucher used in part or full payment for five half days a week at a playgroup will have the same value as a voucher used for part or full payment for the same period at a private nursery; and if she will make a statement. [34829]

Mr. Robin Squire

The expectation is that a voucher worth around £1,100 will be exchanged for either a part-time place in a nursery class, nursery school, or private nursery establishment, or a full-time place in a reception class, or up to a full-time place in a playgroup. The detailed funding regime for playgroups will be considered further.

Mr. Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if pre-school playgroups and private nursery schools will be expected to achieve the same stated learning achievements if they are to be eligible for participation in the nursery education voucher scheme. [34828]

Mr. Squire

All institutions offering pre-school education in exchange for vouchers will be expected to work towards the same desirable achievements for children's learning.

Mr. Khabra

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment at what age a child qualifies for being funded for a nursery place by the new voucher initiative. [34469]

Mr. Squire

A child will become eligible for a voucher at the beginning of the first term after his or her fourth birthday.

Mr. Khabra

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance her Department gives on the appropriate adult-child ratio for nursery classes to be funded by the nursery voucher scheme. [34467]

Mr. Squire

My right hon. Friend and the Secretary of State for Health are jointly consulting on whether the existing guidance on adult-child ratios remain appropriate for institutions registered to exchange vouchers for pre-school education.

Mr. Khabra

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) who will be responsible for the administrative costs of the nursery voucher initiative; [34466]

(2) what she estimates will be the administrative costs of the nursery initiative for individual local education authorities the size of Ealing; [34470]

(3) pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July, Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education, what estimates she has for the total cost of running the voucher scheme. [34108]

Mr. Squire

The cost of issuing and redeeming vouchers is expected to be less than 1.5 per cent. of the value of the vouchers themselves.

The administration costs are included in the £185 million of new money announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. Because administration will be handled by a private sector company, the additional burden on local authorities is not expected to be significant.

Mr. Khabra

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will allow local education authorities to borrow extra capital specifically to fund the provision of extra nursery facilities in their areas. [34468]

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July,Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education (1) what supplementary capital funding she intends to make available to those parts of the country which currently have the lowest levels of provision for four-year-olds; [34114]

(2) what capital funding she intends to make available to facilitate the expansion of pre-school places for four-year-olds. [34115]

Mr. Squire

The private and voluntary sectors can raise any capital needed for expansion commercially on the strength of voucher income. In the maintained sector, local education authorities are free to determine their own priorities for capital expenditure. Local education authorities and their schools can also enter into arrangements with the private sector using the new freedoms provided by the private finance initiative.

Mr. Khabra

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she taking to protect the position of education authorities that have already made substantial provision for nursery education, so that their standard spending assessment is not to be disadvantaged in relation to authorities which have made little provision. [34498]

Mr. Squire

If their recruitment of four-year-olds is maintained at present levels, no LEA will be worse off under the proposed funding method for the voucher scheme.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July,Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education, which companies have been invited to tender for the administration of the voucher scheme; and which companies have submitted bids. [34106]

Mr. Squire

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 6 July her decision to select, by competitive tender, a private sector company to issue and redeem the pre-school voucher. Advertisements inviting expressions of interest will be published shortly.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July,Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education, (1) what provision will be made for children who would currently receive a full-time nursery place in the maintained sector; [34118]

(2) if the Government will continue to give financial support to local education authorities to provide for threeyear-olds; and what plans there are to change the level of support for three-year-olds; [34107]

(3) pursuant to her answer of 15 May, Official Report, columns 11–12, how a local education authority should meet the difference in the cost between the £1,100 voucher and a full-time place in an infant class. [34117]

Mr. Squire

The proposed funding method will recoup from local authorities a sum equivalent to the voucher value multiplied by the number of four-year-olds in maintained provision in each authority. This is only a part of total spending on under-fives, and allows local education authorities to continue to spend above the voucher value on full or part-time places for four-year-olds, and on three-year-olds, as they judge appropriate.

Mr. Spearing

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July,Official Report, columns 517–19, in respect of legislative change to implement her plans for changes in education for the under-fives, if there will be changes in the statutory instruments defining the qualifications of teachers in nursery schools and those relating to their premises. [34120]

Mr. Squire

My right hon. Friend and the Secretary of State for Health will be jointly consulting on whether the requirements of the Children Act 1989, including those that relate to premises, remain appropriate for institutions which register to exchange vouchers for pre-school education.

In addition, my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and Employment and for Wales announced on 14 July their intention to consult on a new set of school premises regulations. These regulations apply to all maintained schools, including maintained nursery schools. They will continue to do so. My right hon. Friend made it clear that all essential health and safety requirements in the current regulations will be retained.

My right hon. Friend has no plans at this stage to impose any new qualification requirements for staff in any institutions which register to exchange vouchers for pre-school education.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July,Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education, what plans she has to enable provision over and above the value of the voucher to be provided for children with special educational needs. [34112]

Mr. Squire

Local education authorities will keep some of their existing funding for four-year-olds, and be able to spend more than the value of the voucher where needed to offer appropriate provision for pupils with special educational needs.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July, Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education, what plans she has to bring school providers currently regulated under the Children Act 1989 under the inspection of the Office for Standards in Education. [34111]

Mr. Squire

My right hon. Friend plans to introduce an inspection regime which will regulate standards of education at all institutions registered to exchange vouchers for pre-school education, including those institutions currently registered under the Children Act. She is consulting jointly with the Secretary of State for Health on the nature of the inspection regime.

Mr. Spearing

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she expects to take to ensure that levels of staffing in existing local authority nursery schools will not be prejudiced by the establishments of new nursery schools by a provider offering improved remuneration and conditions to those currently available. [34119]

Mr. Squire

Provided local authority nursery schools continue to recruit the same number of four-year-olds as they do now, in response to parental demand, they should not have their funding reduced. It is for the private and voluntary sector institutions to set their own rates of pay and conditions of service.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July,Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education, by how much local authority standard spending assessment for under-fives education will be reduced once the full voucher scheme has been reduced. [34109]

Mr. Squire

The amount recouped from each local authority to contribute to funding the voucher scheme will be the product of the number of four-year-olds in maintained provision and the voucher value. For full implementation of the scheme, the amount recouped is likely to be in the region of £545 million.

Mr. Blunkett

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her oral statement of 6 July,Official Report, columns 517–19, on pre-school education, what financial assistance will be made available to train teachers and staff for the expansion of pre-school places for four-year-olds.

Mr. Squire

Institutions which exchange vouchers for pre-school education will be able to use voucher income to invest in staff training to raise the quality of provision and to meet the needs of children and parents.