To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to the reply to the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham of 29 November, Official Report, column 700, if he will publish figures showing the numbers of free or subsidised places for children under statutory school age in nursery schools or similar in each country of the European Community; and if he will also show the numbers of places as precentages of the numbers of children in the relevant age group in each country.
Information is not available centrally, in the form requested. The latest available participation rates in pre-compulsory schooling are given in the table.
| Participation in pre-primary education by age group, 1988 | |||
| Percentage of age group | |||
| Country | Age at which compulsory schooling starts | Education 3 to 5 | 1Day care 3 to 5 |
| Belgium | 6 | 96 | — |
| France | 6 | 99 | — |
| Germany (Fed. Rep.) | 6 | 64 | — |
| Ireland | 6 | 51 | 214 |
| Italy | 6 | 76 | — |
| Luxembourg3 | 6 | 65 | — |
| Netherlands | 5 | 66 | 217 |
| Spain | 6 | 71 | — |
| United Kingdom | 5 | 64 | 427 |
Sources:
Table AA: Education Statistics for the United Kingdom.
1 Possible overlap with the education data. It is not advisable, therefore, to combine the two rates.
2 1984.
3 1987.
4 1987. DES estimate avoiding double counting.