Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations his Department has received from Early Years providers on the effect of the level of business rates on the financial viability of their companies.

Ministers and officials often meet early years providers and the department regularly receives correspondence from childcare and early years settings on a wide variety of topics related to the early years, including cost pressures. We have been clear that getting our funding rates right is key to the successful delivery of our childcare entitlements, and we are happy to hear from providers and other organisations on this.