"To ensure support to all children, councils need to be given the resources and powers to manage local childcare markets.”
Responding to the Department for Education's new recruitment campaign for early years workers, Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said:
“This announcement is a positive step towards addressing the capacity and workforce issues facing childcare providers. Councils have been working hard to support providers to increase their workforce, but many feel constrained by their inability determine where new providers can be established.
“As councils are responsible for directing the majority of childcare spending, their role will become even more critical as the proportion of places delivered through government-funded entitlements will increase from 50 per cent to around 80 per cent.
"To ensure support to all children, councils need to be given the resources and powers to manage local childcare markets.”