The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has been unable to provide a concrete assurance that everyone who wants a childcare place will receive one, as the government rolls out its new scheme.
Eligible parents and carers of two-year-olds are now entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare per week, as of Monday 1 April, with further extensions planned.
Concerns have been raised about the sector’s ability to absorb the uptick in childcare places that the government wants to offer.
The policy was announced in March last year and is being rolled out as the government lags significantly behind Labour in opinion polls ahead of the upcoming general election.
When asked whether he could guarantee everyone who wanted a place would get one, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that it was “really important to build capacity in the sector.”
He added that the government was working to increase the number of childcare workers and has made efforts to cut red tape, including making it easier to become a childminder and change locations.
The government has also introduced a trial offering £1,000 to people who join the sector. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was previously unable to confirm that everyone would get a place.
Government figures show that the number of childcare providers in England fell from 59,400 in 2022 to 56,300 in 2023. However, the number of places on offer increased from 1,543,000 to 1,558,100, and the number of paid staff went from 334,400 to 347,300.
The Labour Party has released what it calls a “dossier of childcare chaos,” attacking what it refers to as a “childcare pledge without a plan.”
Using figures from the regulator Ofsted, Labour claims that the number of childcare places available fell by 1,000 last year, rather than rising by around 5,000 as the government’s statistics found.
When asked about the discrepancy, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan stated that Ofsted doesn’t have complete data as they only have information on those who have registered with them.
She explained that the data doesn’t include pre-schools or childminders, and therefore Labour is looking at the wrong data and drawing the wrong conclusions.
In response to Labour’s criticism, the Conservative Party has capitalized on the situation by claiming that the opposition wants to scrap its policy rollout.
In a letter to the Labour frontbench, Gillian Keegan expressed concern that this has caused uncertainty in the market, as childcare bosses are unsure whether they should invest in expanding their business.
The Labour Party has launched a review into early education and childcare, headed by former Ofsted inspector Sir David Bell. The review aims to deliver accessible and affordable early years education that will give children the best start in life.
The Conservative Party has criticized Labour’s review, claiming that it further adds to the uncertainty in the sector. They argue that the opposition’s plans to review the policy rollout create doubt among childcare providers, who may hesitate to invest in expanding their businesses.
