Nursery World - Summer statement: Government 'without a plan' for the childcare sector and struggling families

Early years organisations have criticised the chancellor for failing to come up with a plan to protect nurseries and childcare businesses and for ignoring the sector's plight.

Nurseries and childminders did not receive any extra financial support in the summer statement, despite sector fears that one in four settings could close

Meanwhile, children’s charities said there was ‘little’ targeted at helping families and cutting child poverty.

Earlier, Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out plans for how employers would be rewarded for keeping on employees after the furlough scheme ends in October, support to create jobs and traineeships for young people, cutting VAT for the services sector, and a scheme to encourage people to ‘eat out to help out’ restaurants and pubs – but there were no announcements of targeted help for other struggling sectors of the economy, such as childcare.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said, ‘Once again we have seen the chancellor totally undervalue the childcare sector. The Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs is completely undermined by a lack of a Plan for Childcare.

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