To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he will make the initiative announced on 17 June on improving access to affordable and quality child care available to parents in Dudley North; and if he will make: a statement. [123426]
We announced a number of initiatives on 17 June all of which will benefit parents in the Dudley North Constituency.
- Funding for the "childminder buddying scheme" will be available from April 2004.
- Childcare Partnership Managers are now available in each Jobcentre Plus district.
- Quality First is available for childminders who wish to develop their child care capabilities.
- Care to Learn is available for all teenage parents who wish to take part in publicly funded education or training.
- The foundation stage information packs will be available from EYDCPs after 18 July.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care places have been created in (a) Stoke, South constituency and (b) Stoke-on-Trent Unitary Authority since 1997. [125623]
Figures on new child care places created have been collected quarterly from local authorities since April 1999. Between April 1999 and March 2003, our latest information, Stoke-on-Trent Unitary Authority reported the creation of a total of 2,148 new child care places. This includes 454 new places with childminders. Figures for constituencies are available for group-based child care provision but not for childminders; between April 1999 and March 2003 Stoke-on-Trent Unitary Authority reported the creation of 490 new group-based child care places in Stoke, South constituency.