Information on the number of child care places available in England and the North East from 1997 to 2009 is shown in the following table. Information is not available below local authority level.
England North East region 1997 1,230,400 3— 1998 1,326,100 3— 1999 1,480,400 68,300 2000 1,569,200 68,800 2001 1,670,600 67,700 2002 4— 4— 2003 1,281,300 51,600 2004 1,415,700 60,500 2005 1,468,300 62,400 2006 1,537,800 66,600 2007 1,551,100 69,800 2008 1.549,100 68,19.0 2009 1,346,100 54,100 1 Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. 2 1997-2001—Data Source: Children's Daycare Facilities Survey—total includes day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools, childminders, out of school clubs, and holiday schemes. 2003-08—Data Source: Ofsted—total includes full day care, sessional day care, childminders, out of school clubs, and crèche day care. 2009—Data Source: Ofsted—total includes childminders, childcare on non-domestic premises, childcare on domestic premises and home child carer. 3 Data not collected due to transfer of responsibility from LAs to Ofsted. 4 Accurate local authority level information is not available.
Local authorities were responsible for the registration and inspection of children's day care facilities from 1997 to 2001. Responsibility transferred to Ofsted from 2003 and correspondingly, the categories of childcare changed from day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools, childminders, out of school clubs and holiday schemes to full and sessional day care, childminders, out of school clubs, and crèche day care. Therefore, data from 2003 are not directly comparable with data prior to 2002.
Data were not collected for 2002 during the transfer of responsibility to Ofsted. Due to changes in legislation Ofsted have changed the way they publish statistics on registered childcare providers and places. From 1 September 2008, Ofsted started to record providers in line with new legal requirements using the categories of childminders, childcare on domestic premises, and childcare on non-domestic premises. This change means that the total numbers of providers and places (excluding childminding) shown in its returns up to and including August 2008 and from December 2008 onwards (the last under the old system, and the first under the new system) are not directly comparable.
For information on the number of registered childminders in each local authority in each quarter of each year from March 2003 to March 2009, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 June 2009, Official Report, column 912W.
Information from June 2009 is included in the following table.
Local authority, as at end: June September Bracknell Forest 300 300 Brighton and Hove 300 300 Buckinghamshire 800 800 East Sussex 400 400 Hampshire 2,200 2,200 Isle of Wight 80 80 Kent 1,600 1,600 Medway 400 400 Milton Keynes 400 400 Oxfordshire 900 800 Portsmouth 200 200 Reading 200 200 Slough 200 200 Southampton 200 200 Surrey 1,700 1,700 West Berkshire 300 300 West Sussex 1,100 1,100 Windsor and Maidenhead 200 200 Wokingham 300 300 1 Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100. Source: Ofsted