§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have gained from the National Childcare Strategy in Chorley: and if he will make a statement. [161598]
§ Margaret HodgeInformation on the number of new child care places created in an individual constituency is available only from 1999. Lancashire local authority reported that between April 1999 and December 2003, the latest date for which information is currently available, 1,306 new child care places opened in Chorley constituency. A place typically helps more than one child, as not all children take up places full-time, and we estimate these places will help some 2,300 children. During the same period, Lancashire reported that 620 child care places closed in Chorley, so that the stock of child care places rose by 686.