аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø¿ª½±

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

"The government’s failure to respond to the Petitions Committee’s report on maternity and parental leave and the impact that a lack of available childcare is having on parents returning to work, while disappointing, unfortunately comes as no surprise.

"Throughout this crisis, despite the government’s constant emphasis on the importance of ensuring that the economy is able to recover, the role that childcare plays in allowing parents to work and support this recovery has been completely overlooked.

"With one in four nurseries, pre-schools and childminders in England fearing closure within the year, government should be treating this issue as a top priority, not dragging its feet.

"Without an urgent financial rescue package for the childcare sector, and a commitment to increased funding levels in the long term, the early years sector will simply not survive this crisis, and more and more parents will find themselves unable to access the childcare they need."

Editor notes 

• The Early Years Alliance is the largest and most representative early years membership organisation in England. A registered educational charity, it also provides high-quality affordable childcare and education to support children and families in areas of deprivation throughout the country.

• The Alliance represents 14,000 members and supports them to deliver care and learning to more than 800,000 families every year. We deliver family learning projects, offer information and advice, produce specialist publications, run acclaimed training programmes and campaign to influence early years policy and practice.

• The Alliance website is