Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of super centres on smaller, privately-funded child care businesses located close to them.

Mr Sam Gyimah

There is a duty on local authorities to judge what provision is appropriate to meet local needs in their areas. An overarching statutory framework places a legal duty on local authorities to have arrangements in place to secure sufficient children’s centres to meet local need and to consult where changes are planned to local children’s centre provision.

In deciding what arrangements to make, local authorities must have particular regard to the quality and quantity of early childhood services in the area. Local authorities are best placed to understand local needs and the different ways children and families can be supported locally.