Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the rate of growth in each of the last five years in the (a) absolute number and (b) proportion of nurseries that are backed by (i) private equity firms, (ii) pension funds and (iii) venture capital funds.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

One of the signs of a healthy market is a range of providers offering choice and flexibility for parents.

As laid out in the Best Start in Life strategy, the department keeps the structure of the market, including the role of private equity, debt, profit levels, and the prices that parents pay, under close review.

As of the most recent data available, 7.5% of places are with providers that have private equity backing, up from 4% in 2018.