§ Mr. LintonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many new child care places were created in(a) Wandsworth and (b) the constituency of Battersea between 2 May 1997 and April 2001; and if he will make a statement. [156769]
§ Ms HodgeBetween May 1997 and March 1999, the National Childcare Strategy created 9,784 childcare places in the London region. Since April 1999 local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships have provided details of the new childcare places that have opened by local education authority and constituency. Between April 1999 and December 2000 two Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships have reported new childcare places in the constituency of Battersea. Wandsworth Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership have reported the creation of 411 new out of school hours childcare places in the borough of Wandsworth and 124 of these are in the constituency of Battersea. Lambeth Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership reported the creation of 2,648 new childcare places between April 1999 and December 2000, of which 24 places were on the border of the constituency and fall within Battersea.
Since September 1998, all four-year-olds in Wandsworth have been entitled to receive a free, part time, early education place. This entitlement is also available for all three year olds in Wandsworth. From 1999 to 2001, Wandsworth received a total of £2,850,000 to fund 3,172 early education places for three year olds. In 2001–02, Wandsworth LEA have been allocated additional funding of £2,050,488 to provide places for 1,726 three year olds. This is in addition to the places that the authority will make available through their own resources (including Standard Spending Assessment).