§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what subsidy is provided for(a) nursery places and (b) holiday play schemes; if he will list the organisations used by his Department for child care; and if child care vouchers are made available to staff. [30010]
§ Mr. StrawProvision is made for spending £380,000 on subsidised child care in the current financial year for Home Office staff (including the Agencies) at various locations. This makes available 164 nursery day care places for children under 5 years of age and around 170 holiday play scheme places for children aged between 5 to 12 years. These arrangements involve a subsidy of up 50% of the contractual running costs depending on local circumstances. Subsidised child care provision is provided only if it can be justified on value for money grounds.
The Department uses the following contractors to provide child care: Beehive Nurseries; Buffer Bean Limited; Jancett Group of Day Nurseries; Kids Unlimited; Kinderquest Limited; Nurseryworks Limited; and the Westminster Children's Society.
The Department does not provide child care vouchers to staff.