asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what proportion of children below statutory school age is currently attending play groups; and how this compares with the position five years ago;(2) what is the total number of the number per 1,000 population of children, below statutory school age who are attending play groups in each local authority area in England and Wales.
Statistics on numbers of children attending play groups are not available centrally but, on 31 March 1977 the latest date for which figures are available, there were 366,000 places in premises in England registered to provide sessional care, most of which are used for play-groups. This represents 119·6 places for 1,000 children under five. Five years earlier, the comparative figures were 263,000 and 82·2.The figures for individual local authorities on 31 March were:
| Local Authority | Maximum number of children permitted | Rate per 1,000 population under 5 | |
| Bedfordshire | … | 4,995 | 133 ·2 |
| Berkshire | … | 6,285 | 133 ·2 |
| Buckinghamshire | … | 6,455 | 170 ·8 |
| Cambridgeshire | … | 4,772 | 116 ·7 |
| Essex | … | 15,167 | 151 ·1 |
| Hertfordshire | … | 7,822 | 128 ·4 |
| Norfolk | … | 6,027 | 136 ·1 |
| Oxfordshire | … | 5,394 | 152 ·4 |
| Suffolk | … | 5,546 | 135·3 |
| Camden | … | 969 | 125·8 |
| Greenwich | … | 1,331 | 104·0 |
| Hackney | … | 836 | 68·5 |
| Hammersmith | … | 555 | 56·1 |
| Islington | … | 1,156 | 118·0 |
| Kensington | … | 1,007 | 154·9 |
| Lambeth | … | 1,867 | 102·0 |
| Lewisham | … | 1,451 | 104·4 |
| Southwark | … | 1,255 | 103·7 |
| Tower Hamlets | … | 605 | 74·7 |
| Wandsworth | … | 1,858 | 106·8 |
| Westminster | … | 1,066 | 134·9 |
| City of London | … | 18 | 60·0 |
| Barking | … | 1,044 | 104·4 |
| Barnet | … | 2,399 | 128·3 |
| Bexley | … | 2,459 | 176·9 |
| Brent | … | 1,539 | 95·0 |
| Bromley | … | 4,290 | 242·4 |
| Croydon | … | 3,187 | 149·6 |
| Ealing | … | 1,700 | 86·3 |
| Enfield | … | 2,158 | 138·3 |
| Haringey | … | 697 | 46·2 |
| Harrow | … | 2,041 | 165·9 |
| Havering | … | 2,066 | 135·0 |
| Hillingdon* | … | 1,869 | 120·6 |
| Hounslow | … | 1,161 | 95·2 |
| Kingston upon Thames | … | 799 | 99·9 |
| Merton | … | 958 | 101·9 |
| Newham | … | 1,101 | 66·3 |
| Redbridge | … | 3,157 | 237·4 |
| Richmond upon Thames | … | 1,793 | 199·2 |
| Sutton | … | 1,521 | 153·6 |
| Waltham Forest | … | 1,800 | 120·8 |
| Cleveland | … | 3,841 | 91·0 |
| Cumbria | … | 4,112 | 136·2 |
| Durham | … | 3,753 | 92·9 |
| Northumberland | … | 1,830 | 101·7 |
| Gateshead | … | 1,450 | 100·0 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | … | 1,867 | 107·3 |
| North Tyneside | … | 926 | 73·5 |
| South Tyneside | … | 559 | 55·4 |
| Local Authority | Maximum number of children permitted | Rate per 1,000 population under 5 | |
| Sunderland | … | 1,690 | 79·3 |
| Humberside | … | 5,667 | 95·4 |
| North Yorkshire | … | 5,743 | 140·1 |
| Barnsley | … | 1,234 | 79·6 |
| Doncaster | … | 1,234 | 60·5 |
| Rotherham | … | 1,296 | 68·9 |
| Sheffield | … | 3,508 | 104·1 |
| Bradford | … | 2,292 | 71·0 |
| Calderdale | … | 1,392 | 106·3 |
| Kirklees | … | 2,432 | 91·8 |
| Leeds | … | 5,141 | 106·4 |
| Wakefield | … | 1,498 | 69·0 |
| Hereford and Worcester | … | 5,860 | 141·2 |
| Salop | … | 3,461 | 132·6 |
| Staffordshire | … | 7,311 | 105·8 |
| Warwickshire | … | 4,738 | 140·2 |
| Birmingham | … | 6,452 | 95·0 |
| Coventry | … | 2,355 | 98·1 |
| Dudley | … | 1,578 | 74·4 |
| Sandwell | … | 1,230 | 59·1 |
| Solihull | … | 1,442 | 100·1 |
| Walsall | … | 1,008 | 50·2 |
| Wolverhampton | … | 1,570 | 82·6 |
| Derbyshire | … | 5,974 | 103·9 |
| Leicestershire | … | 7,243 | 126·4 |
| Lincolnshire | … | 4,811 | 136·7 |
| Northamptonshire | … | 5,273 | 137·3 |
| Nottinghamshire | … | 6,636 | 99·9 |
| Cheshire | … | 6,279 | 97·1 |
| Lancashire | … | 7,490 | 85·0 |
| Bolton | … | 1,477 | 78·6 |
| Bury | … | 1,331 | 100·8 |
| Manchester | … | 1,622 | 55·9 |
| Oldham | … | 1,442 | 87·9 |
| Rochdale | … | 1,053 | 67·5 |
| Salford | … | 1,066 | 63·1 |
| Stockport | … | 2,453 | 123·3 |
| Tameside | … | 907 | 58·9 |
| Trafford* | … | 511 | 33·0 |
| Wigan | … | 1,481 | 63·0 |
| Knowsley | … | 712 | 49·1 |
| Liverpool | … | 2,589 | 81·4 |
| Sefton | … | 1,765 | 87·8 |
| St. Helens | … | 1,530 | 102·7 |
| Wirral | … | 2,343 | 101·9 |
| Dorset | … | 5,408 | 168·0 |
| Hampshire | … | 18,516 | 186·3 |
| Isle of Wight | … | 974 | 157·1 |
| Kent* | … | 15,205 | 146·1 |
| Surrey | … | 10,667 | 173·7 |
| East Sussex | … | 5,082 | 151·7 |
| West Sussex | … | 6,444 | 176·6 |
| Wiltshire | … | 4,934 | 130·2 |
| Avon | … | 8,179 | 139·6 |
| Cornwall | … | 4,206 | 163·0 |
| Devon | … | 8,927 | 157·7 |
| Gloucestershire | … | 5,210 | 159·3 |
| Somerset | … | 3,945 | 154·7 |
| * March 1976 figures are shown where March 1977 figures are unconfirmed. | |||