---

Regional Government White Paper

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the White Paper on Regional Government will be published. [35308]

The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Preston (Mr. Hendrick) on 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 80W.

Ministerial Meetings (Lobbyists)

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings (a) he and (b) his senior departmental officials have had with Enron and its subsidiaries in the last two years. [32430]

Tom Brake: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what occasions he and his Department have held meetings since May 1997 with representatives from (a) BP, (b) Shell, (c) Exxon-Mobil, (d) Enron, (e) Conoco, (f) Texaco and (g) TotalFinaElf; if he will state the purpose of each meeting; and if he will provide details of the outcomes and agreements reached as a result of each meeting. [33218]

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings have taken place between Ministers in his Department and employees of Citigate since 7 June 2001; and if he will make a statement. [32813]

12 Feb 2002 : Column 191W

The Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and analysis. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code and Guidance for Civil Servants: Contacts with Lobbyists. Some of these discussions take place on a confidential basis, and in order to preserve confidentiality, it is not the normal practice of Governments to release details of specific meetings with private individuals or companies.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Mr. Cox: To ask the Solicitor-General in how many cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service it decided not to prosecute in each of the last three years. [34419]

The Solicitor-General: The figures show the number of defendants whose case was handled by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last three years, and the outcome of proceedings.

The number and proportion of defendants whose case was discontinued in a magistrates' court was as follows:

	Number	Percentage
1999	164,682	12.1
2000	166,001	12.8
2001	172,398	13.1

The number and proportion of defendants whose case was dropped in the Crown Court before a jury was sworn was as follows:

	Number	Percentage
1999	9,331	10.7
2000	10,070	11.9
2001	11,292	13.7

12 Feb 2002 : Column 192W

The above figures represent cases in which the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed with a prosecution on consideration of the evidence and the public interest.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Nursery Places

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the (a) actual and (b) percentage change in the number of nursery places provided by the (i) statutory and voluntary sectors and (ii) private sector in each education authority in England and Wales between 1996–97 and 2001–02; what percentage of three year olds had a nursery place in 1996–97; how many had a nursery place in 2000–01; and how many she expects to have a nursery place in 2001–02 in each education authority in England. [32406]

Margaret Hodge: The following table contains the available information on numbers of free early years education places taken up by three and four-year-olds. It has been derived from the table published alongside Statistical Bulletin 11/2001 "Provision For Children Under Five Years Of Age in England—January 2001" on my Department's statistical website www.dfes.gov.uk/ statistics/. My Department is planning to publish information for January 2002 in May.

My Department estimates that there are free early years education places available for all eligible four-year-olds in England. Since September 1999, we have invested substantially in new free early years education places for three-year-olds. The table shows three-year-olds took up 335,000 free early years education places in January 2001, up from 214,000 in January 1997. We are committed to providing all three-year-olds, whose parents want one, with free early years education places by September 2004.

Information for Wales is a matter for the Education Department of the National Assembly for Wales.

Numbers of three and four-year-olds taking up free early education places, England, Government office regions and LEA areas 1997–2001Position in January each year (spring term)

	1997
	3-year-olds
	Maintained nursery and primary schools(13),(14)	Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(15)	4-year-olds(16),(17)	Total
England	214,173	0	576,176	790,349
North-east	23,707	0	31,811	55,518
Darlington	915	0	1,290	2,205
Durham	4,217	0	5,868	10,084
Gateshead	1,259	0	2,241	3,500
Hartlepool	1,143	0	1,215	2,358
Middlesbrough	1,919	0	2,004	3,923
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	1,878	0	3,087	4,965
North Tyneside	1,837	0	2,441	4,278
Northumberland	2,255	0	3,638	5,893
Redcar and Cleveland	1,988	0	1,889	3,877
South Tyneside	1,525	0	1,923	3,448
Stockton on Tees	2,351	0	2,515	4,866
Sunderland	2,420	0	3,701	6,121
North-west	42,204	0	83,348	125,552
Blackburn with Darwen	709	0	1,912	2,621
Blackpool	547	0	1,593	2,140
Bolton	2,295	0	3,341	5,636
Bury	1,079	0	2,281	3,360
Cheshire	2,636	0	7,555	10,192
Cumbria	2,597	0	5,587	8,184
Halton	558	0	1,570	2,128
Knowsley	2,044	0	2,263	4,307
Lancashire	4,392	0	12,427	16,819
Liverpool	4,187	0	5,595	9,782
Manchester	3,722	0	5,981	9,703
Oldham	1,540	0	3,124	4,664
Rochdale	1,407	0	2,790	4,197
Salford	2,231	0	3,263	5,494
Sefton	2,051	0	3,226	5,277
St. Helens	1,108	0	2,200	3,308
Stockport	1,634	0	3,274	4,908
Tameside	1,705	0	2,881	4,586
Trafford	1,856	0	2,815	4,671
Warrington	827	0	2,327	3,154
Wigan	1,434	0	3,513	4,947
Wirral	1,645	0	3,830	5,475
Yorkshire and the Humber	31,844	0	61,664	93,508
Barnsley	1,264	0	2,868	4,132
Bradford	4,376	0	6,637	11,013
Calderdale	1,309	0	2,626	3,935
Doncaster	2,364	0	3,800	6,164
East Riding of Yorkshire	1,053	0	3,214	4,267
Kingston Upon Hull, City of	2,240	0	3,517	5,757
Kirklees	2,974	0	4,911	7,885
Leeds	6,065	0	8,755	14,820
North East Lincolnshire	922	0	2,079	3,001
North Lincolnshire	521	0	1,842	2,363
North Yorkshire	1,642	0	5,996	7,638
Rotherham	1,304	0	3,397	4,701
Sheffield	2,594	0	5,952	8,546
Wakefield	2,540	0	4,217	6,757
York	676	0	1,853	2,529
East Midlands	17,140	0	47,870	65,010
Derby	1,331	0	3,056	3,056
Derbyshire	3,612	0	8,295	13,238
Leicester	924	0	3,909	3,909
Leicestershire	1,474	0	5,921	8,400
Lincolnshire	1,686	0	6,576	8,262
Northamptonshire	2,277	0	7,464	9,741
Nottingham	1,816	0	3,871	5,688
Nottinghamshire	3,939	0	8,396	12,335
Rutland	81	0	382	382
West Midlands	29,098	0	64,117	93,215
Birmingham	7,427	0	12,474	19,901
Coventry	1,674	0	3,651	5,325
Dudley	2,267	0	3,696	5,963
Herefordshire	182	0	1,869	2,051
Sandwell	3,035	0	3,990	7,025
Shropshire	471	0	2,944	3,415
Solihull	1,250	0	2,575	3,825
Staffordshire	3,471	0	9,563	14,227
Stoke-on-Trent	1,193	0	3,085	3,085
Telford and Wrekin	319	0	1,921	2,240
Walsall	3,079	0	3,585	6,664
Warwickshire	1,357	0	5,551	6,908
Wolverhampton	2,793	0	3,277	6,070
Worcestershire	580	0	5,937	6,517
East of England	11,658	0	62,005	73,663
Bedfordshire	1,266	0	4,704	6,739
Cambridgeshire	1,093	0	5,769	6,861
Essex	1,559	0	14,007	15,566
Hertfordshire	4,095	0	13,796	17,891
Luton	769	0	2,674	2,674
Norfolk	1,493	0	8,184	9,677
Peterborough	373	0	1,922	2,295
Southend-on-Sea	213	0	1,918	2,131
Suffolk	605	0	7,351	7,956
Thurrock	192	0	1,680	1,872
London	40,536	0	85,128	125,664
Inner London	18,959	0	31,794	50,753
Camden	802	0	1,808	2,610
City of London	11	0	30	41
Hackney	1,474	0	2,625	4,099
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,053	0	1,336	2,389
Haringey	2,004	0	2,913	4,917
Islington	1,266	0	2,184	3,450
Kensington and Chelsea	542	0	1,213	1,755
Lambeth	1,462	0	2,706	4,168
Lewisham	1,412	0	2,917	4,329
Newham	2,030	0	3,759	5,789
Southwark	2,222	0	3,067	5,289
Tower Hamlets	2,340	0	2,722	5,062
Wandsworth	1,614	0	3,035	4,649
Westminster	727	0	1,478	2,205
Outer London	21,577	0	53,334	74,911
Barking and Dagenham	1,332	0	2,436	3,768
Barnet	2,021	0	3,534	5,555
Bexley	1,069	0	2,657	3,726
Brent	1,712	0	3,047	4,759
Bromley	107	0	3,427	3,534
Croydon	1,537	0	3,951	5,488
Ealing	2,625	0	3,851	6,476
Enfield	1,112	0	3,179	4,291
Greenwich	1,981	0	2,994	4,975
Harrow	451	0	2,308	2,759
Havering	449	0	2,414	2,863
Hillingdon	560	0	3,268	3,828
Hounslow	1,563	0	2,560	4,123
Kingston upon Thames	888	0	1,564	2,452
Merton	1,644	0	2,225	3,869
Redbridge	687	0	2,943	3,630
Richmond upon Thames	570	0	1,843	2,413
Sutton	325	0	2,140	2,465
Waltham Forest	944	0	2,993	3,937
South-east	10,602	0	88,329	98,931
Bracknell Forest	218	0	1,536	1,754
Brighton and Hove	450	0	2,441	2,441
Buckinghamshire	597	0	5,679	6,566
East Sussex	933	0	4,799	6,182
Hampshire	1,092	0	13,109	14,568
Isle of Wight	115	0	1,302	1,417
Kent	1,532	0	14,635	16,167
Medway	315	0	2,962	3,277
Milton Keynes	290	0	2,743	2,743
Oxfordshire	770	0	6,875	7,645
Portsmouth	171	0	2,039	2,039
Reading	255	0	1,796	2,051
Slough	231	0	1,559	1,790
Southampton	196	0	2,148	2,148
Surrey	2,080	0	12,051	14,131
West Berkshire	236	0	1,761	1,996
West Sussex	648	0	7,597	8,245
Windsor and Maidenhead	225	0	1,565	1,790
Wokingham	248	0	1,732	1,980
South-west	7,384	0	51,904	59,288
Bath and North East Somerset	308	0	1,685	1,993
Bournemouth	127	0	1,533	1,533
Bristol, City of	2,755	0	4,688	7,443
Cornwall(18)	988	0	5,136	6,124
Devon	866	0	6,866	7,732
Dorset	300	0	3,621	4,175
Gloucestershire	58	0	6,171	6,229
North Somerset	159	0	1,810	1,969
Plymouth	361	0	2,885	3,246
Poole	127	0	1,348	1,348
Somerset	472	0	5,204	5,676
South Gloucestershire	403	0	2,745	3,148
Swindon	94	0	2,142	2,142
Torbay	151	0	1,213	1,364
Wiltshire	215	0	4,858	5,167

12 Feb 2002 : Column 197W

	2001
	3-year-olds
	Maintained nursery and primary schools(13)	Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers(15)	4-year-olds(16)	Total
England	226,634	108,815	589,293	924,742
North-east	21,871	3,288	29,436	54,595
Darlington	919	49	1,299	2,268
Durham	3,850	612	5,451	9,913
Gateshead	1,342	593	2,275	4,209
Hartlepool	961	34	1,130	2,125
Middlesbrough	1,849	115	1,537	3,502
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	1,773	857	2,928	5,558
North Tyneside	1,767	232	2,291	4,290
Northumberland	2,139	136	3,421	5,696
Redcar and Cleveland	1,601	14	1,707	3,322
South Tyneside	1,450	143	1,719	3,312
Stockton on Tees	1,813	100	2,329	4,242
Sunderland	2,407	404	3,347	6,158
North-west	39,566	20,727	84,733	145,025
Blackburn with Darwen	966	679	2,030	3,676
Blackpool	314	1,075	1,562	2,951
Bolton	2,088	926	3,659	6,673
Bury	1,046	91	2,217	3,354
Cheshire	2,172	783	7,800	10,755
Cumbria	2,410	1,138	5,586	9,133
Halton	542	577	1,414	2,533
Knowsley	1,847	133	2,184	4,164
Lancashire	4,199	5,155	15,681	25,036
Liverpool	3,648	1,310	4,479	9,436
Manchester	3,890	713	5,375	9,978
Oldham	1,507	1,048	3,051	5,606
Rochdale	1,287	966	2,733	4,985
Salford	1,836	247	2,712	4,795
Sefton	2,103	778	3,155	6,036
St. Helens	1,084	495	2,079	3,659
Stockport	1,703	87	3,323	5,114
Tameside	1,580	581	2,764	4,925
Trafford	1,497	196	2,551	4,244
Warrington	889	1,099	2,360	4,348
Wigan	1,358	1,194	3,634	6,186
Wirral	1,600	1,455	4,383	7,438
Yorkshire and the Humber	31,804	15,223	58,804	105,831
Barnsley	1,356	529	2,098	3,983
Bradford	4,520	1,196	5,882	11,598
Calderdale	1,184	666	2,364	4,215
Doncaster	2,249	161	3,740	6,150
East Riding of Yorkshire	1,024	138	3,388	4,550
Kingston Upon Hull, City of	2,036	517	3,170	5,724
Kirklees	2,489	1,488	5,028	9,005
Leeds	5,642	1,786	8,436	15,864
North East Lincolnshire	933	554	1,902	3,388
North Lincolnshire	637	536	1,771	2,944
North Yorkshire	1,705	3,218	6,287	11,210
Rotherham	1,364	876	3,093	5,333
Sheffield	3,372	2,030	5,825	11,227
Wakefield	2,592	611	3,980	7,183
York	701	916	1,840	3,457
East Midlands	19,103	8,321	48,829	76,253
Derby	1,845	859	2,808	5,512
Derbyshire	4,016	3,099	8,384	15,499
Leicester	2,146	1,112	3,849	7,107
Leicestershire	129	639	6,641	7,408
Lincolnshire	1,749	41	7,022	8,812
Northamptonshire	2,294	835	7,876	11,005
Nottingham	2,509	700	3,557	6,765
Nottinghamshire	4,328	1,008	8,318	13,653
Rutland	87	30	374	491
West Midlands	30,441	9,450	65,826	105,717
Birmingham	7,200	3,844	14,033	25,076
Coventry	1,984	1,031	3,753	6,767
Dudley	2,336	738	3,743	6,816
Herefordshire	336	115	2,249	2,701
Sandwell	3,059	100	3,509	6,668
Shropshire	499	309	3,144	3,952
Solihull	1,499	59	2,711	4,270
Staffordshire	2,554	443	9,201	12,198
Stoke-on-Trent	1,842	367	2,836	5,044
Telford and Wrekin	651	596	2,115	3,363
Walsall	2,838	151	3,427	6,416
Warwickshire	1,473	813	5,964	8,250
Wolverhampton	2,584	134	3,010	5,728
Worcestershire	1,586	751	6,132	8,468
East of England	15,740	4,352	64,060	84,151
Bedfordshire	1,202	218	4,888	6,308
Cambridgeshire	1,154	867	5,897	7,918
Essex	1,992	221	15,051	17,264
Hertfordshire	6,406	257	13,495	20,159
Luton	975	996	2,643	4,614
Norfolk	1,932	126	8,404	10,462
Peterborough	288	593	2,132	3,013
Southend-on-Sea	446	440	2,087	2,973
Suffolk	857	477	7,617	8,950
Thurrock	488	157	1,845	2,490
London	46,679	20,825	87,835	155,339
Inner London	21,508	10,078	34,058	65,644
Camden	915	718	2,075	3,707
City of London	12	1	35	48
Hackney	1,520	968	2,714	5,202
Hammersmith and Fulham	1,025	586	1,564	3,174
Haringey	1,932	486	3,391	5,809
Islington	1,252	812	2,089	4,153
Kensington and Chelsea	612	277	1,031	1,920
Lambeth	1,955	1,163	3,062	6,180
Lewisham	1,892	968	3,018	5,878
Newham	3,306	551	3,947	7,804
Southwark	2,242	1,150	3,397	6,789
Tower Hamlets	2,358	281	2,809	5,448
Wandsworth	1,629	1,349	3,210	6,187
Westminster	858	768	1,717	3,343
Outer London	25,171	10,747	53,778	89,695
Barking and Dagenham	1,418	326	2,338	4,082
Barnet	1,995	389	3,665	6,049
Bexley	1,314	911	2,570	4,796
Brent	1,684	875	2,985	5,544
Bromley	247	428	3,657	4,332
Croydon	1,894	623	4,123	6,640
Ealing	2,604	527	3,725	6,856
Enfield	1,236	1,034	3,483	5,753
Greenwich	1,800	765	2,846	5,411
Harrow	615	350	2,379	3,344
Havering	603	1,210	2,317	4,130
Hillingdon	1,813	119	3,336	5,268
Hounslow	1,564	550	2,491	4,605
Kingston upon Thames	911	172	1,678	2,760
Merton	1,707	117	2,099	3,923
Redbridge	1,587	852	3,352	5,790
Richmond upon Thames	546	40	1,974	2,560
Sutton	266	360	2,037	2,663
Waltham Forest	1,367	1,098	2,723	5,188
South-east	12,705	14,255	93,691	120,651
Bracknell Forest	147	735	1,329	2,212
Brighton and Hove	732	1,032	2,560	4,325
Buckinghamshire	790	404	6,075	7,269
East Sussex	588	1,113	4,953	6,654
Hampshire	589	1,748	14,560	16,897
Isle of Wight	131	471	1,433	2,035
Kent	1,494	818	15,773	18,085
Medway	412	2,119	3,231	5,762
Milton Keynes	379	197	2,774	3,349
Oxfordshire	1,024	213	6,885	8,122
Portsmouth	441	880	2,501	3,822
Reading	716	202	1,721	2,639
Slough	976	32	1,655	2,664
Southampton	334	1,346	2,310	3,990
Surrey	2,426	2,145	12,755	17,326
West Berkshire	273	99	1,646	2,018
West Sussex	816	441	8,222	9,479
Windsor and Maidenhead	306	226	1,521	2,052
Wokingham	131	32	1,787	1,950
South-west	8,725	12,375	56,080	77,180
Bath and North East Somerset	288	195	1,827	2,310
Bournemouth	282	914	1,568	2,764
Bristol, City of	2,653	1,169	4,453	8,274
Cornwall(18)	987	2,089	5,208	8,284
Devon	1,200	630	7,330	9,159
Dorset	215	288	3,987	4,490
Gloucestershire	97	3,385	8,472	11,954
North Somerset	200	98	2,000	2,297
Plymouth	744	1,508	2,540	4,792
Poole	92	742	1,374	2,208
Somerset	503	217	5,404	6,124
South Gloucestershire	341	145	3,114	3,600
Swindon	412	172	2,346	2,930
Torbay	391	505	1,349	2,245
Wiltshire	320	319	5,108	5,747

12 Feb 2002 : Column 201W

	Actual change in numbers 1997 to 2001(19)		Percentage change in numbers 1997 to 2001(20)
	3-year-olds	4-year-olds	3-year-olds	4-year-olds
England	121,276	13,118	57	2
North-east	1,452	-2,375	6	-7
Darlington	53	10	6	1
Durham	245	-417	6	-7
Gateshead	676	34	54	1
Hartlepool	-148	-85	-13	-7
Middlesbrough	45	-467	2	-23
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	752	-159	40	-5
North Tyneside	162	-150	9	-6
Northumberland	20	-216	1	-6
Redcar & Cleveland	-373	-182	-19	-10
South Tyneside	68	-204	4	-11
Stockton on Tees	-438	-185	-19	-7
Sunderland	391	-354	16	-10
	0
North-west	18,089	1,385	43	2
Blackburn with Darwen	936	118	132	6
Blackpool	842	-32	154	-2
Bolton	719	319	31	10
Bury	58	-63	5	-3
Cheshire	319	245	12	3
Cumbria	951	-1	37	-0
Halton	561	-156	101	-10
Knowsley	-64	-79	-3	-3
Lancashire	4,963	3,254	113	26
Liverpool	771	-1,116	18	-20
Manchester	881	-605	24	-10
Oldham	1,015	-73	66	-2
Rochdale	846	-58	60	-2
Salford	-148	-551	-7	-17
Sefton	830	-71	40	-2
St. Helens	471	-121	43	-5
Stockport	156	50	10	2
Tameside	456	-117	27	-4
Trafford	-163	-264	-9	-9
Warrington	1,162	33	141	1
Wigan	1,118	120	78	3
Wirral	1,410	553	86	14
Yorkshire and the Humber	15,183	-2,860	48	-5
Barnsley	621	-770	49	-27
Bradford	1,340	-755	31	-11
Calderdale	541	-262	41	-10
Doncaster	46	-60	2	-2
East Riding of Yorkshire	109	174	10	5
Kingston Upon Hull, City of	313	-346	14	-10
Kirklees	1,003	117	34	2
Leeds	1,362	-319	22	-4
North East Lincolnshire	565	-178	61	-9
North Lincolnshire	652	-72	125	-4
North Yorkshire	3,281	291	200	5
Rotherham	936	-304	72	-9
Sheffield	2,808	-127	108	-2
Wakefield	663	-236	26	-6
York	941	-13	139	-1
East Midlands	10,284	960	60	2
Derby	1,372	-248	103	-8
Derbyshire	3,503	89	97	1
Leicester	2,334	-60	253	-2
Leicestershire	-706	720	-48	12
Lincolnshire	104	447	6	7
Northamptonshire	852	413	37	6
Nottingham	1,392	-314	77	-8
Nottinghamshire	1,397	-78	35	-1
Rutland	35	-8	43	-2
West Midlands	10,793	1,709	37	3
Birmingham	3,617	1,558	49	12
Coventry	1,341	102	80	3
Dudley	807	46	36	1
Herefordshire	270	380	148	20
Sandwell	124	-481	4	-12
Shropshire	337	201	71	7
Solihull	308	137	25	5
Staffordshire	-474	-362	-14	-4
Stoke-on-Trent	1,016	-249	85	-8
Telford and Wrekin	929	194	292	10
Walsall	-90	-158	-3	-4
Warwickshire	929	412	68	7
Wolverhampton	-75	-267	-3	-8
Worcestershire	1,757	194	303	3
East of England	8,434	2,055	72	3
Bedfordshire	155	183	12	4
Cambridgeshire	928	129	85	2
Essex	654	1,044	42	7
Hertfordshire	2,568	-301	63	-2
Luton	1,202	-31	156	-1
Norfolk	565	220	38	3
Peterborough	508	211	136	11
Southend-on-Sea	673	169	316	9
Suffolk	729	266	120	4
Thurrock	453	165	236	10
London	26,968	2,707	67	3
Inner London	12,627	2,264	67	7
Camden	831	266	104	15
City of London	2	5	18	15
Hackney	1,014	89	69	3
Hammersmith and Fulham	558	227	53	17
Haringey	414	479	21	16
Islington	798	-96	63	-4
Kensington and Chelsea	347	-182	64	-15
Lambeth	1,656	355	113	13
Lewisham	1,448	101	103	3
Newham	1,827	188	90	5
Southwark	1,170	330	53	11
Tower Hamlets	299	87	13	3
Wandsworth	1,364	175	84	6
Westminster	899	239	124	16
Outer London	14,341	443	66	1
Barking and Dagenham	412	-97	31	-4
Barnet	363	130	18	4
Bexley	1,156	-87	108	-3
Brent	847	-62	49	-2
Bromley	568	231	531	7
Croydon	980	172	64	4
Ealing	506	-126	19	-3
Enfield	1,158	303	104	10
Greenwich	584	-149	30	-5
Harrow	514	71	114	3
Havering	1,364	-97	304	-4
Hillingdon	1,372	68	245	2
Hounslow	551	-69	35	-3
Kingston upon Thames	195	114	22	7
Merton	180	-125	11	-6
Redbridge	1,752	409	255	14
Richmond upon Thames	16	131	3	7
Sutton	301	-104	93	-5
Waltham Forest	1,521	-271	161	-9
South-east	16,358	5,362	154	6
Bracknell Forest	664	-207	304	-13
Brighton and Hove	1,315	119	292	5
Buckinghamshire	597	397	100	7
East Sussex	768	154	82	3
Hampshire	1,245	1,451	114	11
Isle of Wight	487	131	424	10
Kent	780	1,138	51	8
Medway	2,216	269	704	9
Milton Keynes	286	31	98	1
Oxfordshire	467	9	61	0
Portsmouth	1,150	462	672	23
Reading	663	-76	260	-4
Slough	778	96	337	6
Southampton	1,484	162	758	8
Surrey	2,491	704	120	6
West Berkshire	137	-115	58	-7
West Sussex	609	625	94	8
Windsor and Maidenhead	306	-44	136	-3
Wokingham	-85	55	-34	3
South-west	13,716	4,176	186	8
Bath and North East Somerset	175	143	57	8
Bournemouth	1,069	35	845	2
Bristol, City of	1,067	-236	39	-5
Cornwall(18)	2,088	72	211	1
Devon	963	464	111	7
Dorset	203	366	67	10
Gloucestershire	3,424	2,301	5,903	37
North Somerset	139	190	87	10
Plymouth	1,892	-345	524	-12
Poole	707	26	556	2
Somerset	248	200	53	4
South Gloucestershire	83	369	21	13
Swindon	490	204	523	10
Torbay	745	136	494	11
Wiltshire	424	251	197	5

⁽¹³⁾ Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools Census.

⁽¹⁴⁾ Figures for LEAs that were re-organised in April 1997 were obtained by apportionment.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise. Nursery Education Grant for three-year-olds was allocated to the 65 local education authorities in 1999–2000 and all LEAs in 2000–01.

⁽¹⁶⁾ Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Summer term 1997.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Includes Isles of Scilly

⁽¹⁹⁾ Expressed as the difference between the numbers of children attending a provider in 2001 compared to 1997.

⁽²⁰⁾ Percentage change in the numbers of children attending a provider in 2001 compared to 1997.

12 Feb 2002 : Column 207W

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) three and (b) four- year-olds in St. Helens, South there are (i) with a full-time nursery place and (ii) without a full-time nursery place. [33697]

Margaret Hodge: The available information shows that there were 120 three-year-olds and 1,570 four-year- olds who took up full-time nursery education places in St. Helens local education authority area in January 2000.

My Department estimates that there are free part-time early education places available for all eligible four- year-olds in England. We are also committed to providing all three-year-olds, whose parents want one, with free part-time early years education places by September 2004.

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