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Pre-school Education: Finance

Volume 504: debated on Tuesday 26 January 2010

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how much his Department spent on extending the pre-school entitlement to two year olds in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2008-09; and if he will make a statement; (309219)

(2) how much funding his Department expects to allocate to extend the pre-school entitlement to two year olds in each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 6 January 2010]: Funding allocated to support the Free Early Learning and Childcare offer to the most disadvantaged two-year-olds is as follows:

£ million

2008-09

20

2009-10

61

2010-11

76

We are committed to rolling out a free entitlement to two-year-olds, stage by stage. The most disadvantaged two-year-olds in every local authority can already access a free place of at least 10 hours a week, 38 weeks per year. Decisions regarding future funding settlements will be taken as part of the next spending review.