Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help nurseries in the private, public and not for profit sectors to work together to ensure that there is local comprehensive childcare provision.

The department continues to engage with sector stakeholders and local authorities to monitor dynamics within local markets, parents' access to the government's entitlements and the childcare they require, and the sustainability of the sector.

The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children, and Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable at 1.3 million places since August 2015 Further findings can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-march-2022/main-findings-childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-march-2022.

Officials from the department discuss sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring sufficient childcare places in their area. The department has not been made aware by any local authority of any current sufficiency problem.