Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of a reduction in the number of childminders on the implementation of her Department's 30-hours free childcare policy.

Childminders are a valuable part of the childcare sector and we want to see them play a full role in delivering the 30 hours childcare entitlement. In our early implementer areas, providers have been able to meet the parental demand for 30 hours, with many childminders working in partnership with other providers to deliver a flexible offer.

We are committed to ensuring childminders have the support they need to deliver all the free entitlements and in the most recently published census data for provision under fives, we were pleased to see an increase in the number of childminders delivering free places for three and four year olds. The census data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/622632/SFR29_2017_Text.pdf.

Our recent reforms are designed to make it easier to work as a childminder and support the profession. These reforms included making it easier for childminders to access government funding, and to work for up to 50% of their time on non-domestic premises. They also refocus the Childcare Business Grant Scheme solely on childminding businesses.