HC Deb 07 November 2002 vol 392 cc727-9W
Mrs. Laing

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many(a) day nurseries, (b) childminders and (c) out of school clubs there were on 31 March and what percentage of these were provided by the private sector. [78593]

Mr. Miliband

We are unable to provide a breakdown on providers as requested, however information on the number of places is shown in the following table.

Round Programme Approved revenue grant (£000) Capital
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03
1 South Fenland 718 629 805 905
1 East Cleveland 469 597 645 791
2 East Bolsover 218 723 733 163
3 Berwick 319 621 839
3 Restormel China Clay 441 466 800
3 East Lindsey 325 589 750
3 West Allerdale 375 737 761
3 Kington and Leominster 350 629 800
3 North Devon 276 654 800
3 Oswestry 441 715 800
4 North East Derbyshire 140 480 750
4 Staffordshire Moorlands 180 450 750
4 West Somerset 109 500 750
Total grant funding £1.405m £4.905m £8.024m £9.659m

The capital funding shown above was based on the capital strategy submitted by each programme, and is intended to fund major capital projects in the first three years of the programme. An additional £250,000 per programme may also be available to the programmes, if needed, to meet further capital expenditure in year 4 and 5 or earlier.

We have also established a pilot initiative of 50 smaller Sure Start programmes (48 programmes approved to date) in rural areas and pockets of deprivation, which would not normally be covered by the traditional Sure Start model. These programmes are managed through Early Years Childcare and Development Partnerships and linked to Neighbourhood Nurseries, Early Excellence Centres or other existing provision to deliver Sure Start-type services to some 150–170 children in each

Number of and places in, day care providers by type1 England
Position at 31 March 2001
Number Places
Day nurseries2 7,800 285,100
Registered childminders2 72,300 304,600
Out of school clubs3 4,900 152,800
Notes:
1 Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
2 Day nurseries and childminders provide care for children under eight years of age.
3 Out of school clubs provide care for five to seven year old children.

Latest figures on Day Care facilities in England were published by the Department in the Statistical Bulletin "Children's Day Care facilities at 31 March 2001 (08/01)" in October 2001, a copy of which is available from the Library. An electronic copy of this publication is also available on the Department's web-site (www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics).

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how much of the Sure Start Rural Fund was spent in(a) 2000–01, (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002–03 to date, broken down by project. [78408]

Mr. Miliband

[holding answer 31 October 2002]: There is no separate fund identified from Sure Start's resources for rural areas. We have to date, however, approved 13 full Sure Start programmes where the catchment area covers predominantly rural areas.

The expenditure committed to each programme, by year is shown in the table.

catchment area. Revenue funding up to £100,000 for each year and capital of up to £250,000 is available. The total budgeted provision for these programmes in 2002–03 is £10.25m. 48 of the 50 Mini Sure Start programmes have now been approved.

A list of the local authority districts where the 50 Mini Sure Start programmes are located is shown below.

Local Authority Number of small Sure Start programmes for rural areas and pockets of disadvantage
Bedfordshire 1
Buckinghamshire 1
Cambridgeshire 1
Cornwall 3
Cheshire 1
Cumbria 3
Local Authority Number of small Sure Start programmes for rural areas and pockets of disadvantage
Derbyshire 2
Devon 3
Dorset 1
Durham 2
East Sussex 1
Essex 1
Gloucestershire 1
Hampshire 1
Hertfordshire 1
Leicestershire 1
Lincolnshire 3
Norfolk 3
Northamptonshire 1
Northumbria 2
North Yorkshire 1
Nottinghamshire 1
Oxfordshire 1
Shropshire 1
Somerset 2
Staffordshire 1
Suffolk 2
Surrey 1
Warwickshire 1
West Sussex 1
Wiltshire 2
Worcestershire 1
East Riding of Yorkshire 1
Herefordshire 1
50

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