Annette Brooke
Main Page: Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)Department Debates - View all Annette Brooke's debates with the Department for Education
(11 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Elizabeth Truss
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 (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
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
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.