Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason (a) nurseries and (b) early years providers have been excluded from the Coronavirus Workforce Fund available to schools.

The Coronavirus Workforce Fund, available last term, was implemented to support schools and colleges with exceptionally high staff absence rates and significant financial pressures to remain open. Instead, the early years sector has benefitted from the continuation of early years entitlement funding during the COVID-19 outbreak. As private nurseries typically rely on private income for a significant proportion of their income - unlike most state-funded schools - they are also able to furlough their staff via the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme, which has also been available for maintained nursery schools. Eligible nurseries have also benefitted from a business rates holiday and access to business loans, as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.