§ Ms Estelle MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what information from Office for Standards in Education inspections of providers under the nursery voucher scheme will be made available to parents; and when. [40389]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThis is a matter for Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools, who heads the Office for Standards in Education. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.
§ Ms MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many vouchers for nursery education have not been redeemed to date during phase I of the nursery voucher scheme. [40385]
§ Mr. SquireNursery education vouchers were issued in respect of 14,711 children for the summer term of 1996. Of these, 1,372—some 9 per cent.—have not been redeemed.
§ Ms MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the difference is between the number of vouchers issued under phase 1 of the nursery voucher scheme and the number of places available in each of the four pilot areas. [40383]
882W
§ Mr. SquireThe number of vouchers issued for summer term 1996 in each of the phase 1 authorities is shown in the table. Information on the number of places available for children eligible for vouchers is not held centrally.
Number of vouchers issued Norfolk 8,976 Kensington and Chelsea 1,151 Wandsworth 3,170 Westminster 1,414
§ Ms MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many providers have participated to date in phase 1 of the nursery voucher scheme. [40390]
§ Mr. SquireSome 1,141 providers, of which 647 are in the private and voluntary sectors, have participated in the scheme to date.
§ Ms. MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the number of new providers established since the introduction of phase 1 of the nursery education voucher scheme. [40386]
§ Mr. SquireAny provider that is not a maintained or independent school has to be registered under the Children Act 1989. Our records do not show whether an institution was established specifically in response to the introduction of the scheme.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will request each of the four local education authorities operating the vouchers scheme for pre-school education to publish an estimate of the number of places in all settings that will be required in each of their areas if 90 per cent. of eligible pupils' parents apply for vouchers. [40403]
§ Mr. SquireThe table shows the estimated number of eligible children in each of the phase 1 authorities and 90 per cent. thereof. These estimates of population are less reliable when broken down both by local authority area and by year group.
LEA Estimated number of eligible children 90 per cent. of estimated number of eligible children Norfolk 9,300 8,370 Kensington and Chelsea 1,650 1,485 Wandsworth 3,300 2,970 Westminster 1,900 1,710