asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the numbers of nursery school places in (a) Scotland and (b) the Lothian region for each year since 1973; and whether it is the policy of the Government to expand nursery education.
The following table shows the number of pupils receiving nursery education in education authority schools in Lothian region and in Scotland for the school years from 1973.
| Pupils receiving nursery education | ||
| Lothian | Scotland | |
| 1973 | n/a | 19,629 |
| 1974 | 4,293 | 20,462 |
| 1975 | 5,074 | 21,569 |
| 1976 | 5,778 | 25,927 |
| 1977 | 6,225 | 29,399 |
| 1978 | 6,749 | 31,326 |
Lothian
| Scotland
| |
| 1979 | 6,569 | 31,770 |
| 1980 | 6,818 | 32,472 |
| 1981 | 6,843 | 33,178 |
| 1982 | 7,075 | 34,682 |
| 1983 | 7,517 | 36,650 |
| 1984* | 8,004 | 37,869 |
* Provisional. | ||
Education authorities are free to determine the priority to be accorded to nursery education in the light of other resource demands.
Nurses*
| Doctors † (excluding general medical practitioners)
| Doctors (including general medical practitioners)
| |
| 1975 | 52,540·0 | 5,213·1 | 8,219·1 |
| 1976 | 53,405·0 | 5,313·9 | 8,354·9 |
| 1977 | 53,229·0 | 5,412·0 | 8,501·0 |
| 1978 | 54,419·0 | 5,447·8 | 8,608·8 |
| 1979 | 56,037·2 | 5,613·3 | 8,803·3 |
| 1980 | 58,602·5 | 5,628·8 | 8,884·8 |
| 1981 | 61,125·5 | 5,672·7 | 9,019·7 |
| 1982 | 61,979·2 | 5,764·3 | 9,156·3 |
| 1983 | 62,395·5 | 5,810·1 | 9,270·1 |
| 1984 | 62,027·4 | 5,854·0 | 9,383·0 |
Notes:
* Includes unqualified auxiliaries, assistants, nursery nurses and nursing cadets.
† Excludes general medical practitioners who are independent contractors.
Includes general medical practitioners who are independent contractors.