Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to take steps to ensure that parents whose children are not able to attend nurseries during the covid-19 outbreak are not required to pay fees to maintain those nurseries in business.

We are working hard to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on all parts of our society, including individuals and business. Childcare providers will have individual agreements with parents and therefore we urge all childcare providers to be reasonable and balanced in their dealings with parents, given the great uncertainty they will be facing too.

Guidance for early years settings, including the support available to them, can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

Further guidance on funding and financial support available for education, childcare and children’s social care organisations can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.