Luke Pollard MP Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Earlier this week, I called on the government to provide help now to safeguard nurseries in Plymouth and across the South West following a cross-party meeting with the Education Secretary.
Decent affordable childcare is vital for our country, but the reality for many families is that childcare is too expensive and there are fewer nurseries and places available due to chronic staff shortages.
Alongside Torbay MP, Kevin Foster and founder of Tops Days Nurseries, Cheryl Hadland, I met with the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan and the Minister for Children, Claire Coutinho, to discuss the wider challenges facing nursery provision in the South West.
Labour has already set out its ambition to fund more childcare places to make it easier for people to enter the profession and to support our early years businesses but we still have a problem today.
These nursery businesses might not survive the next few months and that’s why we desperately need support today to keep early years nurseries open.
You can read more about the issues facing Plymouth nurseries in the Plymouth Herald.