§ Judy MallaberTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the total number of(a) new early years education places for three year olds and (b) new child care places created in Amber Valley since May 1997. [157119]
§ Ms HodgeBetween spring 1998 and spring 2001 3,435 additional, free, early years places have been created for three-year-olds in the Derbyshire local education authority area1. These places were funded either through Nursery Education Grant funding or from the Authority's own resources.
Between May 1997 and March 1999, the National Childcare Strategy created 5,901 child care places in the East Midlands. Since April 1999 local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships have provided information by constituency of all new child care places except for child minder places. Between April 1999 and December 2000 Derbyshire Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership have reported the creation of 548 new child care places in Amber Valley. During that same period 261 new child minder places were created across the Derbyshire local education authority area.
1As a result of boundary changes and the creation of a new unitary authority in Derby City, meaningful figures are only available from January 1998 onwards.