Day Nurseries

Mr. Nellist
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which local authorities have reduced the number of places in day nurseries since 1979; and what has been the percentage reduction in each case.

Mrs. Currie
Thirty-six local authorities in England reduced the number of their day nursery places between 1981 and 1986; the percentage reduction in each case is given in the table. Detailed information for 1979 and 1980 is not readily available.The information relating to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and Northern Ireland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

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|Durham              |
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|North Tyneside      |
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|South Tyneside      |
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|Sheffield           |
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|Wakefield           |
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|Cheshire            |
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|Bolton              |
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|Oldham              |
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|Stockport           |
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|Knowsley            |
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|St. Helens          |
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|Wirral              |
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|Coventry            |
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|Nottinghamshire     |
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|Berkshire           |
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|Cambridgeshire      |
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|Hertfordshire       |
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|Suffolk             |
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|Hammersmith         |
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|Wandsworth          |
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|Westminster         |
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|Barking             |
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|Ealing              |
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|Enfield             |
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|Havering            |
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|Hillingdon          |
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|Merton              |
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|Newham              |
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|Richmond upon Thames|
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|Waltham Forest      |
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|Dorset              |
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|Hampshire           |
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|Kent                |
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|East Sussex         |
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|Devon               |
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|Gloucestershire     |
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