§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 13 May,Official Report, column 111, how many (a) representations and 266W (b) petitions his office has now had concerning the implementation of the nursery voucher scheme; for each, how many were in favour and how many against the implementation of nursery vouchers; and if he will make a statement. [31846]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansIn addition to a number of letters to Welsh Office Ministers, some 35 petitions and some 4,000 separate representations have been received, the vast majority of the latter consisting of printed pro forma letters and postcards.
There continues to be general support for the Government's objective of making nursery education available for all four-year-olds, although only one letter offers specific support for the voucher scheme as the most appropriate means to achieve that objective. This is not surprising, given that most of the representations contain misunderstandings of some basic elements of the scheme.