HL Deb 21 November 1996 vol 575 cc146-7WA
Lord Walton of Detchant

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they hope to announce the first results of their evaluation of the nursery voucher scheme in the three pilot areas and whether they have invited or will invite the National Audit Office to assess whether the scheme is proving to be cost-effective.

Lord Henley

The department published a report on Phase 1 of the scheme on 13th November which includes a description of work undertaken jointly with the National Audit Office. The aims of the scheme are necessarily achievable only over time: cost effectiveness will be considered alongside the longer term monitoring and assessment described in chapter 11 of the report.