Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2019 to Question 226665, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of local authority budgets to fulfil the statutory requirement of alternative nursery provisions of equal quality, in the event that a Maintained Nursery School closes.

Maintained nursery schools (MNS) make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. There is a presumption against their closure. This does not mean that they can never close, but if they do, any replacement provision must be of equal quality, preserve expertise and be more accessible and convenient for parents.

Whether or not an MNS closes is a matter for local authorities. However, the presumption against their closure includes a duty on local authorities to assess whether the alternative provision available is of equal or greater quality. No assessment has been made of the adequacy of local authority budgets to do this.