§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will make a statement on the basis on which he calculated that his nursery education voucher scheme will cost £8 million in a full year; [35791]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 11 July, Official Report, column 519, what are the present annual costs of a full-time place in a play group or a reception class; [35783]
(3) what will be the maximum cash value of a nursery education voucher in Northern Ireland; [35787]
(4) what plans he has to increase the number of public sector nursery places before 1997; by how many; and in what locations; [35789]
(5) how many children will receive (a) one term's nursery education; (b) two terms' nursery education; and (c) three terms' nursery education as a result of the voucher scheme in 1997; [35790]
(6) how many children in Northern Ireland currently start their primary education before the compulsory school starting age; at what cost to public funds; and how their education and educational funding will be affected by the voucher scheme for nursery education; [35784]
(7) how many children in Northern Ireland currently receive reception class provision; how this is defined; how it is costed; and how current provision will be affected by the nursery voucher scheme; [35786]
(8) how many extra children he calculates will be entitled to receive nursery education through the voucher scheme. [35788]
§ Mr. AncramThe figure of £8.3 million is the additional, not the total, cost of the pre-school initiative in Northern Ireland and as such represents the costs of providing vouchers at the appropriate level for those children who would not otherwise attend grant-aided nursery or reception classes.
The maximum cash value of a voucher in Northern Ireland will be £1,100 and I estimate that some 4,300 children will be entitled to a voucher for three terms provision, some 8,700 to a voucher for two terms provision and 6,500 to a voucher for a single term's provision.
1390WThere are no children below compulsory school age in primary education, but there are approximately 2,400 reception age pupils in primary schools in Northern Ireland, of whom about half are in reception classes which are classes in primary schools consisting entirely of children below compulsory school age and where the provision made does not differ substantially from that available in nursery schools or classes.
Pupils in reception classes are funded through the normal LMS formulae for schools and the average age-weighted pupil unit for reception age pupils in 1994–95 was £1,235 a year. Vouchers will be capable of being redeemed for reception class provision on the same basis as for other forms of pre-school provision. Costs for playgroup provision are not readily available in the form requested and I will write to the hon. Member.
Currently a total of some 7,700 children are receiving pre-school education in grant-aided nursery schools or reception classes and the voucher scheme will provide resources to enable a further 11,800 children to avail of pre-school provision.
Detailed proposals for the implementation of this initiative in Northern Ireland, including proposals for the expansion of nursery education in the public sector, will be the subject of consultation with the main interest groups and will be announced in due course.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many four-year-olds are currently receiving private sector nursery education; and at what cost to their parents. [35785]
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 11 July,Official Report, column 519, how many playgroups in Northern Ireland have full-time places. [35782]
§ Mr. MossPlay groups operate on a sessional basis. Where a play group operates two sessions per day, each session would generally cater for different children. The number of such play groups is not readily available.