(2) how many books purchased under the Bookstart programme have been (a) delivered to and (b) collected by parents; and how many are awaiting collection.
Bookstart is a public/private partnership which is supported by publishers, sponsors, local and national government. Booktrust have informed me that, to date, the total cost of the Bookstart programme in England has been around £110 million: £74 million worth of books donated by publishers, sponsorship of £5 million and £30.7 million from local and national Government agencies including DCSF.
Since 1992 around 14.7 million books have been given to parents of children under three in England via health visitors, libraries and early years settings and it is estimated that a further 500,000 books are held by local authorities to maintain a continuous supply to eligible parents in England.