Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's target was for the number of childminders to register with childminder agencies.

Childminder agencies (CMAs) are ‘one-stop-shop’ organisations that help childminders with training, business support, advice and finding parents. They also provide a valuable service for parents who want to find a high quality childminder that suits their working patterns.

The childminder agency legislation is enabling. CMAs are commercial organisations, independent of government, and it is for them to decide how many childminders to register. Childminders have the choice of whether or not to join an agency.