Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the financial sustainability of childminding roles in (a) East Sussex and (b) Lewes constituency.

It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life.

From April 2026, local authorities will be required to pass at least 97% of their funding directly to providers, an increase from 96%. We will work with local authorities and others to ensure that, where they want to, childminders and other early years providers are paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. Childminders, who often care for children of different ages, can use the funding they receive to support costs across all the children they look after. We expect this will also bring increased demand for childminder places, providing new opportunities for growth.

From 1 November 2024, the government introduced new flexibilities to help childminders join and stay in the profession, supporting the government’s commitment to roll out expanded childcare entitlements and give children the best start in life.