Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) Ofsted-registered childminders work in and (b) children aged (i) one to three and (ii) four to 11 live in Luton South constituency as of October 2022; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of childcare provision in that constituency; and if he will make a statement.

A breakdown in the number of Ofsted-registered childminders who are working, and the number of children aged 1-3 and 4-11 by parliamentary constituency and local authorities requested, can be found in the attached table. Childminders are generally the most affordable and flexible form of childcare and form an important part of the broader childcare market.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, all local authorities report that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.