§ Ms ArmstrongTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spends on(a) child care provision for under-fives and (b) out-of-school provision for the over-fives, both directly, excluding provision for departmental staff, and indirectly through resources made available to local authorities and other organisations; what form of provision is provided; and how many full-time and part-time places are provided. [35553]
§ Mr. BowisDuring 1995–96 more than £1 million in grant aid has been made available by the Department to voluntary organisations to support day care services for young children which includes more than £500,000 specifically allocated to our out of school initiative. For 1995–96, almost £1.8 billion has been made available for all children's services but it is for local authorities themselves to decide the allocation of resources to 1289W particular services such as child care. In 1993–94, the latest period for which complete information is available, local authorities in England spent £136 million on day nurseries and play groups for the under-fives. A further £98 million was spent on childminding/day fostering and family centres; this figure includes expenditure on children of all ages.
Information on the amount of day care provision for children under eight, including the type of facilities provided, was published in "Children's Day Care Facilities at 31 March 1994, England A/F 94/6", copies of which are available in the Library.