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Please find a comment from the Early Years Alliance on the lack of any mention of the early years sector - other than a passing reference to family hubs - in today's (4 January) speech from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, setting out his key priorities for the year ahead. 

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

鈥淗ow can it be that at a time when thousands of early years providers are closing every year, staff are leaving the sector in droves and parents are facing crippling costs, the Prime Minister gives a key speech about priorities for the upcoming year and doesn鈥檛 even mention the early years beyond a passing reference to family hubs?

"If encouraging more people back into work is a key government aim for the years ahead, perhaps tackling our broken early years system and ensuring that mothers aren't priced out of the workforce as a result of spiralling early years costs might be a good place to start. And if a quality education is so important, why not invest adequately in the sector that supports children's learning during their most critical period of development?

鈥淲hile we of course recognise that the government has a number of pressing priorities at the moment, a functioning childcare and early education system is just as much a part of our social infrastructure as the railways and the NHS. The idea that ministers intend to simply ignore the growing crisis and hope it goes away on its own is simply inconceivable. 

鈥淥ur sector is at breaking point, and no amount of regurgitating the same old tired and misleading lines about 鈥榬ecord investment鈥� into the early years is going to change that. The government simply must tackle this problem head on: we cannot build a better future for our children and grandchildren without investing what is needed to deliver quality, affordable and accessible care and education to the families that need it.鈥�