Pre-School Education: Finance

Mrs. Maria Miller
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how much funding has been allocated for the purposes of extending the free early learning entitlement to two year olds from the most deprived households in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11;

(2) what funding his Department has allocated to the extension of the free entitlement to early education to two year olds who do not have such an entitlement at present in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 8 December 2009]: Funding allocated to support the Free Early Learning and Childcare offer to the most disadvantaged two-year-olds is as follows:

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|       |£ million|
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|2008-09|20       |
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|2009-10|61       |
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|2010-11|76       |
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Decisions regarding future funding settlements will be taken as part of the next spending review.

Mrs. Maria Miller
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many two year olds are receiving the free entitlement to early education; and what plans he has to increase the number of two year olds in receipt of the free entitlement to early education in each of the next three financial years.

Dawn Primarolo
[holding answer 8 December 2009]: Over 20,000 two-year-olds already have access to free places and we will continue to make progress on the long-term ambition to provide free part-time nursery places for all two-year-olds whose parents want them. The reforms the Government are making to tax relief for Childcare Vouchers will allow us to go further. Two-year-old places will continue to be rolled out stage-by-stage in each of the next three financial years.