27 July 2001
Despite dressing the announcement up on July 24 as the single, biggest investment to expand 900 neighbourhood nursery schemes with a cash boost of £300m, Morris's predecessor, David Blunkett, had already announced the plans last December.
What is new is £40m worth of capital funding to provide education for three-and-four-year-olds in disadvantaged areas and an extra £10m of European Social Fund money for the training of childcare workers.
A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills confirmed that the scheme had been announced last year. However, he said that Morris had set out what each region could expect to get.
Announcing the funding, Morris said she was determined that three-and-four-year-olds in the most disadvantaged areas will not miss out on the opportunity of an early years education place.
She added: 'The £40m of capital funding announced today will be available to local authorities to build new early years education facilities in some of the most socially disadvantaged areas of the country. This is match-funding and will release as much as £80m.'
Local education authorities are expected to match the government investment pound for pound.
Figures released this week showed that between April 1997 and March 2001, new childcare places had been created for 700,000 children.
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