Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he is making available to private childcare providers during the covid-19 outbreak.

The UK is well prepared to tackle COVID-19. The Government has set out specific measures to support childcare providers:

• funding for the Government’s early years entitlements will continue during any periods of nursery, preschool or childminder closures, or where children cannot attend due to COVID-19
• to support nurseries at this time, the Chancellor has also decided that they will be eligible for a business rates holiday for one year from 1 April.

Childcare providers will also benefit from the wider measures the Chancellor has announced to support the people and businesses of the UK:

• a three-point plan announced at Budget providing £12 billion of support for public services, individuals and businesses whose finances are affected by the outbreak
• a package to provide additional support for businesses and individuals totalling £350bn
• a temporary but uncapped package to help firms keep people in employment.

The response to COVID-19 needs to be UK-wide and the Government has so far provided £5.3 billion of funding to the devolved administrations to support people, businesses and public services in response to Covid-19. This is in addition to the UK-wide measures that the people and businesses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will benefit from.