§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list in respect of her initiative for education paid for by vouchers for children under the normal school starting age(a) the additional extra resources to be made available as announced at the introduction of the scheme, (b) subsequent variations and (c) the approximate breakdown into amounts spent so far. [12411]
Mr. Robin SquareThe estimated budget for the first year of full implementation of the nursery education voucher scheme was £750 million. It illustrated the order of magnitude of the sums involved. The budget has been revised using more up-to-date data on the number of four-year-olds in school.
The following table shows the estimated budget and the actual budget for 1997–98:
£ million Estimated Actual SSA deduction 565 529 Additional voucher money 165 125 Inspection and administration 20 20 As of mid-November, around £7.7 million had been paid in respect of vouchers redeemed in phase 1. The voucher scheme begins nationwide in April this year.