§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the cost to local authorities of carrying out the audit of the supply of and demand for child care set out in the Green Paper, Meeting the Childcare Challenge. [50854]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthIt is not possible to assess with precision the cost to partnerships of conducting local audits. In preparing their audits Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships will be able to draw upon information about child care that local authorities are already obliged by law to collect or make available, for example day care reviews and Children's Services Plans required by the Children and Young Persons Acts. Research carried out for my Department has shown that the extent and quality of information held by local authorities varies widely. We are making available £12 million pounds to help local partnerships conduct audits and draw up local child care plans.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the regional conferences and workshops for partnership members and others which have been held as a follow-up to the Green Paper, "Meeting the Childcare Challenge". [50853]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthRegional conferences have been held in Sheffield, Gateshead, Bristol and London to follow up the Green Paper. They were attended by a range
302W
Assisted places scheme Parental contribution scales for school year 1998–99 percentage Part of relevant income to which percentage applies One assisted pupil Each of two assisted pupils Each of three assisted pupils That part which exceeds £10,248 but does not exceed £11,144 9 6.75 5.25 That part (if any) which exceeds £11,144 but does not exceed £12,053 12 9 7 That part (if any) which exceeds £12,053 but does not exceed £13,858 15 11.25 8.75 That part (if any) which exceeds £13,858 but does not exceed £16,639 21 15.75 12.25 That part (if any) which exceeds £16,639 but does not exceed £20,264 24 18 14 That part (if any) which exceeds £20,264 33 24.75 19.25 of organisations including local authorities, Training and Enterprise Councils, private and voluntary providers, child care organisations and employers.
A workshop on child care information services has also been held, and workshops on training and qualifications, child care audits, guidance for child care partnerships and involving employers in child care and family friendly employment will be held from July through to the autumn.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many copies of the Green Paper, "Meeting the Childcare Challenge", were(a) published and (b) distributed. [50850]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthThe Stationery Office produced 10,000 copies of the Green Paper, of which the Department for Education and Employment bought 4,500. Of these some 2,500 were distributed to interested organisations and individuals, 1,200 copies were distributed within Government and the remaining copies were kept for use during the consultation period. We have also produced a leaflet summarising the Green Paper, of which 1.1 million copies were printed. Most of these have now been distributed to parents, child care providers and others.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he expects to publish responses to the Green Paper, "Meeting the Childcare Challenge". [50855]
§ Mr. Alan HowarthAll responses to the Green Paper received by the Government are available for public inspection, unless the respondent has requested that they remain confidential. The Government will take account of these responses when it produces guidance for the new child care partnerships in October. We will consider what other Government response to the consultation is needed in the light of the comments we receive.