Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

High-quality Childcare

Monday 23 October 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK government is investing over 4.1 billion to expand free childcare entitlement for working parents of children aged nine to 36 months.
  • Some 600 nurseries have closed in the past year, prompting concerns about childcare availability.
  • The government plans to announce changes to recruitment processes to increase the childcare workforce.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stella Creasy Labour (Co-op) Walthamstow
Children & Families
Context

The question addresses the need for increased availability and quality of childcare services.

Question

What steps she is taking to help ensure the availability of high-quality childcare.

Answer from David Johnston

We are investing over £4.1 billion to expand the current free childcare entitlement offer to eligible working parents of children aged nine to 36 months. We are also increasing the hourly rates for childcare providers for the existing entitlements, and funding rates will be confirmed in the autumn.

Answered
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Q2 Stella Creasy Labour (Co-op) Walthamstow
Children & Families
Context

The question highlights concerns about the closure of nurseries in the past year and the impact on childcare availability, especially as new entitlements are introduced.

Question

Why does the Minister think that some 600 nurseries have closed in the past year and how will we ensure that parents who are not already accessing childcare can do so?

Answer from David Johnston

Part of the reason why we are staggering the entitlement is to ensure that we have the staff in place to deliver it. In the next few weeks we will announce changes to the processes for recruiting people. We will launch a big campaign of recruitment in the new year to increase the workforce, and I have every confidence that we will meet the commitment.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The reasons for nursery closures were not specifically addressed; instead, focus was on staffing solutions without directly addressing closure issues.

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