§ Mr. BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost of providing a full-time nursery education place is in(a) East Sussex and (b) England; and what the comparable figures were for 1997. [37910]
§ Margaret HodgeThe Department does not hold information on the cost of full-time nursery education places.>
The Department provides funding to early education settings for the provision of free, part-time early education places for three-year-olds at the current annual rate of £1,188. However, in addition, funding may be made available by local authorities from their own resources and the cost of places for four-year-olds is met by local authorities, drawing on funds made available through the standard spending assessment. The annual grant rate in 1997 was £1,100.