§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the average hourly rates of pay of employees of pre-school learning groups. [41655]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisRates of pay will vary with the type of group. Most pre-schools are sessional: I understand that average hourly rates of pay for staff in such pre-schools in membership of the Pre-school Learning Alliance are £4.40 for pre-school leaders.
§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how he intends to allocate the £500,000 announced on 6 April for the purposes of stopping further closures of pre-schools; and how he will ensure that the money achieves his stated objective. [41656]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisWith the help of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and other playgroup organisations, Early Years Development Partnerships will be asked to identify good pre-schools where some short-term funding may avert the threat of closure. Criteria for the distribution of funds will be discussed with the Local Government Association and the pre-school organisations.