Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the scope and timescale will be for the review of the childcare system; and what estimate she has made of the number of working parents in Windsor and Maidenhead who are unable to access Government-funded childcare places due to insufficient local provider capacity.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department will lead a review of childcare provision. This review aims to simplify the system for providers and families, improving access and strengthening the impact of government support.

The department does not hold the specific data requested. The department publishes information on the number of parents that have obtained eligibility codes (to allow them access to the expansion to the early education entitlements) and how many of those codes have been validated by a childcare provider. These figures are available for each local authority. It should be noted that failure to validate a childcare eligibility code does not always mean the parent could not find a place and some parents may obtain an eligibility code but chose later to not use it. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/6c795555-7148-4429-b1e3-08de39895a0e. The data is as of 22 September 2025.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities must ensure sufficient childcare provision to meet parental requirements in their area. Parents unable to secure a government-funded place should contact their local authority if they cannot access a place.