Commons nursery less than half full

So far 17 out of a possible 40 places have been filled in the controversial parliamentary nursery.

And according the Commons authorities only 7 are already attending, with the rest expected to start using the facility by mid-February 2011.

Earlier this year the House of Commons Commission took the controversial decision of transforming the popular Bellamy's bar to provide child care for up to 40 children.

Supported by the Speaker, the nursery was opened as part of a move to make the Commons more family friendly.

The commission are keen to stress that the advice from nursery providers was that it takes several years for a new nursery to reach the target level of capacity.

The number of children attending the nursery was revealed in a parliamentary answer given to Tory MP Eleanor Laing, who called for the commission to publish a benchmark of the nursery's performance in enrolment against industry averages for start-up nurseries.

Last month Labour MP Roger Godsiff called for the nursery to be opened up to the children of families in Westminster and other boroughs close to the House of Commons in order to fill up any spare places.

Article Comments

Have your say...

Please enter your comments below.

Name

Your e-mail address

Listen to audio version

Please type in the letters or numbers shown above (case sensitive)