On the 25th January, Ranil Jayawardena asked the Education Minister about the Government's progress implementing its policy to provide 30 hours of free childcare for working parents, and to assure him that nurseries in rural areas will be protected.
Ranil said:
"In rural areas, nurseries are often smaller which can result in higher costs per pupil. Can the Minister assure me that those nurseries will not be adversely affected, and will he visit my constituency to see some of those nurseries at first hand?"
Sam Gyimah,The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, said:
"May I reassure my hon. Friend that our review of childcare costs, in consultation with the sector, took into account the cost of childcare for every type of provider right across the country? We have announced an increase in the average national funding rate from £4.56 an hour to £4.88 for three and four-year-olds from 2017-18 and will be consulting to ensure that that reaches the frontline. In response to my hon. Friend’s request, I would be delighted to visit nurseries in Hampshire, which, I know, are at the forefront of innovation in the sector."