§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 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. [30022]
§ Mr. MorleyStaff in the Department, including the Agencies, now have access to 130 nursery places at six sites throughout the country and to holiday play schemes at 11 sites. Subsidies for both nurseries and play schemes vary depending upon local circumstances but are generally in the range 25 to 50 per cent. A proportion of the child care places are in inter-departmental nurseries where the Department is not the lead Department and has not therefore awarded the contract. Organisations with which the Department has its own contracts for nursery provision are Childcare Enterprise Ltd. and Kinderquest Ltd. Child care vouchers are not available to staff.