Nursery World - Labour says targeted financial support for childcare sector is 'essential' for the country's economic recovery

Without extra financial support for the childcare sector, many nurseries and childminders will close, putting the country's economic recovery at risk, Labour has told the Government.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green (left), and shadow early years minister Tulip Siddiq, visited LEYF's Bessborough nursery in Pimlico on 16 July to highlight the need for targeted support for the childcare sector

Childcare settings were left out of the Government's catch-up plan funding for schools, announced last month, and are unable to claim for support for ‘exceptional costs associated with coronavirus’, such as extra cleaning or staff required for safety, which schools are able to claim for.

During a visit to London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) Bessborough nursery in Pimlico, Tulip Siddiq MP, shadow minister for children and early years, warned that mass childcare closures could lead to many parents, particularly mothers, losing their jobs, setting back the country's economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, which will rely on people being able to return to work.

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