§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what créche facilities are provided by his Department; and at what cost. [44870]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence provides the following child care support for its civilian and military employees:
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- 42 work place nurseries offering 1,700 full day care places for children aged three months to five years.
- 36 créches (benefiting 700 children) providing occasional care and 70 pre-schools (benefiting over 2,000 children) providing education on a sessional basis, primarily for service families.
- 14 wrap around care schemes for five to 12-year-olds (benefiting 350 children) providing before and after school care to match the working day.
- 12 holiday play schemes providing full day care for five to 12-year-olds during school holidays (three are shared with other Government Departments) benefiting 500 children.
- a child care voucher scheme for civilian employees in Glasgow benefiting about 80 parents.
The capital and running costs of child care schemes are funded by a variety of means including: money raised by parents, benevolent funds, local authorities, the civil service modernisation fund and the defence budget. However, no figures for the total costs are readily available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.