Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of funded early years childcare places in Nottinghamshire; and what steps he is taking to support providers to meet demand and improve access for working families in suburban and rural communities.

The department continues to work with local authorities to strengthen their sufficiency planning for children, including reviewing whether statutory requirements are clear enough and exploring how to improve data on the availability of suitable places, such as for those needing specialist support.

In 2026/27, the government is also expecting to spend over £9.5 billion on early years entitlements, supporting more parents, especially mothers, to balance family life and work. This funding reflects a full year of eligible working parents being able to access 30 hours of childcare from nine months until their children start school, and an expected increase in funding rates.

Recent statistics show that 1.7 million eligible children were registered for government funded entitlements.