Shephard holds firm on school vouchers

The introduction of nursery vouchers will not be derailed by a defeat in the House of Lords, ministers said yesterday. Gillian Shephard, Secretary of State for Education, promised to provide places for all four-year-olds next year despite calls for a delay from the Upper House.

Meanwhile, Labour sought to capitalise on the Government's embarrassment over the issue by calling for all-party support for an alternative scheme and offering to put aside party considerations to find a solution.

David Blunkett, the party's education spokesman, warned that if Mrs Shephard did not agree to co-operate with Labour it would do its best to rally Tory dissidents to defeat the Government over the issue.

On Monday night, peers voted to delay the national implementation of the scheme until the results of a year's pilot exercise in four authorities are known.

In effect, the Labour amendment could mean the collapse of plans for pounds 1,100 vouchers for the parents of all four-year-olds. The scheme is due to be brought in nation-wide in April 1997 and any postponement would almost certainly delay it until after the general election.

Yesterday, Mrs Shephard said the Government intended to stick to its original timetable, suggesting that it will try to overturn the Lords' decision when the vouchers Bill returns to the Commons.

"While we naturally take careful note of their Lordships' views ... the scheme is firmly set on course for nation-wide implementation. Delaying its introduction would prevent over half a million children and their parents from enjoying the benefits of a whole year's schooling," she said.

Mr Blunkett called for the pounds 205m cost of the voucher scheme to be put instead into projects involving public, private and voluntary nursery providers. "We want to redistribute the money they are already providing. Otherwise there will be chaos," he said.

He added that dissident Tories who had already lost favour with the Government over other issues might join with Labour to defeat the voucher scheme. Some Conservative areas, such as Solihull, have protested that the plans would have a detrimental effect on already generous local nursery provision.

A pilot scheme in Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Norfolk has shown that many of the children whose parents have received vouchers end up in the reception classes of nursery schools. Extra places had to be provided, particularly in Norfolk, to meet the demand created by the programme.

While opposition politicians hailed the Lords' decision as a victory for common sense, some under-fives' groups were disappointed.

Margaret Lochrie, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, which oversees play groups, said it helped parents on low incomes. "The voucher scheme is not perfect. However, for the first time funding will be available not just for schools, but for all types of provision, and this is already long overdue," she said.

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