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The Early Years Alliance has issued a comment in response to the announcement that parliament will debate the official e-petition against the relaxation of ratios in early years settings in England, after the reached 100,000 signatures.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: 

“We welcome the news that the proposed ratio changes will be debated in parliament on 14 November.

“It's clear that the relaxation of ratios is a vital topic, close to the hearts of families and the early years sector alike. It is high time that it is given an opportunity to be discussed and debated in full.

“Our own research clearly shows it will not lower the cost of early years care and education and will instead sacrifice the quality and safety of the care and education children receive, but it seems this message is yet to filter through to government.

“As such, we hope that the time given to the debate will wake MPs and policymakers up to the reality that any relaxation of ratios will be a damaging, backwards and devastating step for England’s early years sector.”