Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of childcare provision in Bristol South constituency.

The key measure of sufficiency of childcare provision is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable at 1.3 million places since August 2015.

Officials from the department also discuss sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring sufficient childcare places in their area. The department has not been made aware by any local authority of any current sufficiency problem. Bristol City Council, which holds the statutory duty to secure sufficient childcare in Bristol South constituency, is not reporting any issues around provision.