Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect the proposed change in the early years funding formula will have on the number of places in maintained nursery schools in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency.

Maintained nursery schools make a very important contribution to social mobility. That is why, as we introduce new funding arrangements in the early years, we are providing local authorities with supplementary funding of £55 million a year for their maintained nursery schools for at least two years. This will provide maintained nursery schools with stability by maintaining their current funding, and is part of our record investment in childcare – £6 billion per year by 2020.

We will say more about the funding of maintained nursery schools shortly in our response to the consultation on an Early Years National Funding Formula. And we will consult the sector on the future of maintained nursery schools, including on what happens after this two year period, in due course.