§ Mrs. LaingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many(a) free nursery school places, (b) hours of free nursery schooling per child and (c) children in the nursery school age group, there are in each local authority area. [74530]
§ Mrs. LiddellInformation on the number of free nursery school places available in each local authority area is not held centrally. Government grant funding covers up to 4121/2 hours of pre-school education for each eligible child over the school year. The Government's pledge to provide a free, quality, part-time education place for every child in their pre-school year, whose parents want one, has been met in Scotland: I announced this on 4 March. The estimated number of pre-school children in each local authority area eligible for pre-school education grant in the school year 1998–99 is in the table.
Local authority Estimate of preschool year children1 Aberdeen City 2,433 Aberdeenshire 2,717 Angus 1,021 Argyll and Bute 1,296 Clackmannanshire 643 Dumfries & Galloway 1,708 Dundee City 1,637 East Ayrshire 1,487 East Dunbartonshire 1,380 East Lothian 1,245 East Renfrewshire 1,089 City of Edinburgh 5,039 Eilean Siar 290 Falkirk 1,758 Fife 4,129 City of Glasgow 5,863 Highland 2,506 Inverclyde 1,055 Midlothian 998 Moray 1,057 North Ayrshire 1,649 North Lanarkshire 4,168 Orkney Islands 232 Perth and Kinross 1,452 Renfrewshire 2,152 Scottish Borders 1,169 Shetland Islands 293 South Ayrshire 1,197 South Lanarkshire 3,711 Stirling 926 West Dunbartonshire 1,252 West Lothian 2,059 Scotland 59,611 1 The estimated number of children in each local authority is based on information provided by GRO, incorporating information provided by authorities where appropriate. From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.