HC Deb 18 May 1995 vol 260 cc307-8W
Mr. MacShane

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of children under the age of five years receive nursery or pre-school public education in each member state of the European Union. [24219]

Mr. Forth

Information is not collected centrally in the form requested. The latest available international comparisons of under-fives participating in public and private education are shown in the table. Separate participation rates for nursery provision only are not available.

Under fives participation rates1 in education, 1992
Percentages
Austria 47
Belgium 98
Denmark 46
Finland 26
France 100
Former West Germany 49
Greece 30
Ireland 29
Italy2 76
Luxembourg n/a
Netherlands 49
Portugal3 36
Spain 67
Sweden 48
United Kingdom 53
Sources:
Education Statistics for the United Kingdom, 1994 edition, HMSO, 1995
Education at a Glance,. OECD, 1995
Notes:
1 Pupils aged 3 and 4 as percentages of the population aged 3 and 4.
2 1988
3 1991