Education Settings: Wider Opening

Steve McCabe Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

My hon. Friend makes the important point that getting children back into routine is vital, and getting as many children as we can back into the classroom is a top priority for all of us. The fruit and vegetable scheme is led by the Department of Health and Social Care, but I will be in contact with it to have discussions, and I will get back to my hon. Friend on the matter.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

Nurseries and early years centres in my constituency tell me they are facing losses of up to £50,000 this term alone. If the Government do not act soon, there will not be many nurseries left to send children to. When does the Secretary of State hope to come forward with a realistic plan to protect essential nurseries and early years provision?

[Gavin Williamson]

We have had an unprecedented package to support nursery and early years provision. There is the continued commitment to paying money through local authorities to support them, there is the furlough scheme and there is rates relief. We constantly talk with those in the sector about how we can do more to support them and how we can support them in the long term to achieve our aim of delivering a rich environment in which children can learn in those early years. Whether they are in the charity sector or the commercial sector, those providers should continue to be able to succeed and create a stable environment for all children.