To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what support will be available for parents of four-year-olds currently using private or voluntary sector providers where their local education authority does not have an approved interim early years development plan. [5197]

[holding answer 24 June 1997]: Where a local education authority does not have an approved interim early-years development plan and parents currently using private or voluntary sector providers wish to continue doing so for the coming Autumn and Spring terms, then those parents will be entitled to certificates of eligibility. These certificates will cover fees up to £366 per term for up to five sessions of education per week each lasting at least two and a half hours.