Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what contingency plans are in place in the event that early years settings (a) reduce places and (b) close due to staffing levels.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring adequacy of children provision in their area. The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract. No local authorities have reported to us that they do not have sufficient childcare places. According to the most recent Official Statistics from Ofsted and the department, childcare places increased by around 17,400 over the last year, equivalent to a 1% rise, between 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025.

The government is investing in training, qualifications and career pathways to professionalise and strengthen the early years workforce. To help providers with costs, including staffing, funding rates are being significantly uplifted by over £8 billion in 2025/26 and over £9.5 billion in 2026/27, as well as a £75 million grant to grow places and staff.