Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to provide business rates relief to childcare providers.

We are investing a record amount into the early years sector, spending around £6 billion per year by 2019-20, which includes £1 billion a year to deliver 30 hours of free childcare and increase our hourly funding rates that we introduced in April 2017. The government has also increased Small Business Rate Relief and provided local authorities with funding to support £300 million of discretionary business rates relief. Local authorities are able to use this to support local nurseries.