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The DfE has announced that the new minister responsible for childcare and the early years is Robert Goodwill. Goodwill will also serve as minister for vulnerable children and families. The announcement follows the departure of previous early years minister, Caroline Dinenage, several weeks ago.

 

Goodwill was elected to the House of Commons in 2005 and has previously held the position of shadow roads minister and minister of state at the department for transport. He has also served as government whip with responsibility for HM Treasury and the Department for Food & Rural Affairs.

 

Alliance chief executive, Neil Leitch, welcomed the confirmation. He said: “We welcome the opportunity to work closely with Mr Goodwill and his team at the Department for Education, and will continue to ensure the concerns of the sector are represented.”

 

However, Neil added: “While we recognise that there is natural cross-over between the respective early years and vulnerable children and families briefs, the fact remains that we now only have one minister looking after these policy areas, where previously there were two. It’s therefore vital that the Department for Education ensures that it is committing the necessary departmental resources to ensure the smooth rollout of early years policy going forward.

 

Earlier this month, previous early years minister Caroline Dinenage moved to the Department for Work and Pensions. Education Secretary, Justine Greening, meanwhile has remained in her role as the cabinet was reshuffled following the general election.