Tories accused of creating 'childcare deserts' after years of neglect

12 May 2024 , 23:01

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Thousands of childcare places have been lost since 2019, figures show (Image: Getty Images)

Tories have been accused of creating "childcare deserts" with alarming falls in places in the past five years.

New figures show there has been a fall of 56,000 in childcare places between 2019 and August 2023 in England. This is a drop of 4.3%, but in some areas the level of closures is above 20%. The Government claims these don't show the full picture, as they don't include childcare places in schools.

Lib Dem education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said: “This Conservative government has created childcare deserts through their years of neglect. This stark postcode lottery means that parents in many areas of the country are left completely without options."

It comes amid questions over whether the Government can deliver on its pledge to deliver 15 hours of free childcare from September for children from 9 months old. Ms Wilson said: “Free hours are no good if parents can’t find a good nursery or childminder for their child – and thanks to this Conservative government's underfunding millions of parents now face the almost impossible task of finding childcare.

"There are fewer providers, less choice for parents and no guarantee they will find a place for their child at all." In Rutland, more than a quarter of childcare places have closed since 2019, falling from 1,032 to 759. In Sunderland, there has been a 23.2% drop, in Telford and Wrekin a 19.9% drop and Darlington a 18.9% fall.

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The number of childcare providers, including nurseries and childminders, has dropped by a fifth since 2019, from 61,162 to 48,143, House of Commons Library figures show. Surrey, Hampshire, and Hertfordshire saw the largest falls in the number of providers with drops of 402, 395, and 333 respectively.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan MP said: “This is nothing but a desperate and misleading political stunt by the Liberal Democrats. Their flawed research ignores the number of childcare places within schools, completely overlooking a major part of the sector. The reality is that the number of registered childcare places has increased by 40,000 since 2018.”

Dave Burke