Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of funded early years childcare places in Nottinghamshire; and what steps he is taking to support providers to meet demand and improve access for
Answer
The department continues to work with local authorities to strengthen their sufficiency planning for children, including reviewing whether statutory requirements are clear enough and exploring how to improve data on the availability of suitable places, such as for those needing specialist support. In 2026/27, the government is also expecting to spend over £9.5 billion on early years entitlements, supporting more parents, especially mothers, to balance family life and work. This funding reflects a full year of eligible working parents being able to access 30 hours of childcare from nine months until their children start school, and an expected increase in funding rates. Recent statistics show that 1.7 million eligible children were registered for government funded entitlements.
Verdict: AMBER (45/100)
The reply gives a reasonably direct account of what the department is doing on the general availability of places, pointing to work with local authorities on sufficiency planning, reviews of statutory requirements, and efforts to improve data on suitable places. It is much less clear on what is being done to support early years providers to meet demand and improve access. The only provider-facing measure mentioned is an unexplained 'expected increase in funding rates', and the other statements concern overall spending and entitlements. The question is therefore only partly answered, and the person who asked would probably need to ask again for specifics on provider support.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the department is doing about increasing the availability of funded early years childcare places in Nottinghamshire. | Addressed | Direct | The reply names a concrete mechanism for availability, the department's ongoing work with local authorities to strengthen sufficiency planning, and supports it with reviews of statutory requirements and efforts to improve data on suitable places. It does not mention Nottinghamshire, but the item asks about the department's general action on availability, which this covers. |
| What the Secretary of State is doing to support early years providers to meet demand for funded childcare and improve access. | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The item asks what is being done to support early years providers to meet demand and improve access. The only provider-facing measure is an 'expected increase in funding rates', which is vague and unexplained, while the other statements are about overall spending and entitlements rather than support for providers. Sufficiency planning is directed at local authorities rather than providers, so the item is only partly answered. |