§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the average cost of childcare in local authority nurseries broken down by region. [36769]
§ Mr. BoatengData are not available centrally on expenditure on local authority day nurseries alone. However, in 1995–96, the latest year for which the data are available, local authorities in England reported having spent £132 million gross on day care in nurseries, both local authority and private. Local authorities had responsibility at 31 March 1996 for some 25,700 children in day nurseries, mostly provided by local authorities, and 29,800 at 31 March 1995. This would imply an average cost to the local authority of approximately £4,700 a year, or about £90 per child per week. The figures for individual local authorities are not reliable enough at this level of detail to enable a robust regional breakdown to be derived; copies of a table showing individual authority figures have been placed in the library.