Child Care

Annette Brooke Excerpts
Tuesday 19th November 2013

(11 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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I have just answered the hon. Gentleman’s question.

I was talking about why Labour made such a mess of child care. It piled red tape on schools and nurseries, making it harder for them to expand. Furthermore, even though parents like flexible, affordable, home-based care, the number of childminders halved under Labour, because of the level of regulation, the difficulty of becoming a childminder and the fact that the funding system was skewed towards nurseries and away from childminders.

Annette Brooke Portrait Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
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I often challenged the previous Government on the collapse in the number of childminders, and I would be interested to hear what innovative ideas the Minister has for expanding this important child care provision.

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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I thank my hon. Friend for her points and I note her consistent support for home-based child care and the important help it can offer.