Alliance responds to appointment of Brendan Clarke-Smith as children and families minister

Please find a comment below from leading membership organisation in response to the news that Brendan Clarke-Smith has been appointed as children and families minister with responsibility for early years. 

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

“We welcome confirmation that Brendan Clarke-Smith is the new children and families minister with responsibility for early years. 

“There’s no doubt that he joins at an extremely challenging time for the sector, as we continue to battle with the impact of the early years funding crisis, sustained recruitment and retention challenges and the ongoing debate over the proposed relaxation of ratios. As such, we look forward to working closely to with him to ensure that the views, needs and concerns of providers are represented.  

“Amid ongoing uncertainty regarding the future shape of the government, we hope that, whatever the outcome of current political debates, over the coming weeks and months we will see a much greater focus on the early years and on ensuring that the sector gets the support and the respect that it both needs and deserves.”