§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect the reduction of day nursery places in Wales has had on the ability of single mothers to secure(a) full-time and (b) part-time employment since 1979. [6071]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansLocal authority day nursery and full day care places in Wales have increased since 1979. The figures in the following table are taken from appendix I to the activities of social services departments statistical series.
539W
Year ending Full day care places offered by registered providers Places in local authority day nurseries 31 March 1979 901 99 31 March 1980 817 109 31 March 1981 746 158 31 March 1982 743 191 31 March 1983 834 191 31 March 1984 1,006 220 31 March 1985 1,013 230 31 March 1986 1,049 237 31 March 1987 1,233 238 31 March 1988 1,313 243 31 March 1989 1,912 264 31 March 1990 2,693 241 31 March 1991 3,519 203 31 March 1992 4,599 194 31 March 1993 5,213 235 31 March 1994 5,274 235 To help maximise parental participation in the work force, between 1993 and March 1996 the out-of-school child care initiative supported the development of over 3,500 new child care places for school age children. A further 300 places will be created in 1996–97.
The Department's child care demonstration projects for the under-fives in Wales will support the development of 600 new child care places for pre-school age children between 1995 and 1998.