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Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“Early years practitioners provide a crucial service, delivering not only vital support to parents and families but also critical early care and education to young children, and so there is no doubt that they should be paid a fair wage for the work they do. 

“And yet, as the Low Pay Commission report rightly highlights, the early years sector remains under severe pressure due to a continued lack of government funding. As a result, rather than being a cause for celebration in the sector, increases in the national minimum and living wages are all too often a cause for great concern. 

“With plans to not only increase the national living wage but also extend it to 23- and 24- year-olds in April, it’s clear that many early years providers will struggle to meet significantly higher salary costs at a time when income has yet to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

“The fact is that minimal increases in early years funding here and there are nowhere near enough to sustain the sector. The government needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure that the childcare sector can remain viable in the long term – so far it has failed to do so.