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By Rachel Lawler

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced that the government will “bring forward” plans to reform the early years sector.

Speaking in today’s Mini-Budget, the Chancellor said that the country needed to “break down” what he called “barriers for enterprise”.

He said: "There are too many barriers for enterprise. We need a new approach to break them down and that means reforming the supply side of our economy."

He said that in the coming weeks his cabinet colleagues would be outlining plans for reforming several sectors, including childcare.

Bringing forward reforms
In the document “”, which accompanied today’s announcement, the government gave further details of its plans to “improve access” to early years education and care.

The document states: “The UK has some of the highest quality childcare provision in the world, but it is also one of the biggest costs facing working families today and a barrier for people remaining in the labour market. The government will bring forward reforms to improve access to affordable, flexible childcare.”

Consultation review
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the �������������, commented: “Given that the responses to the recent consultation on ratios are apparently still being reviewed, it is incredibly concerning that the government is already suggesting that it will go ahead with its relaxation plans.

“The government has sold this policy as a remedy to the cost-of-living crisis, when in reality, it will do absolutely nothing to cut costs for parents. Instead, this ridiculous plan risks compromising the quality of education and care that children receive at a time when they need more individual care and attention than ever, not to mention putting their basic safety and wellbeing in jeopardy. 

“What’s more, it will heap even more pressure on the early years workforce, driving even more highly-skilled educators away from the sector, at a time when the early years is already struggling with the worst recruitment and retention crisis in recent history. 

“Let’s be clear: deregulation is the worst possible step the government could take at the worst possible time for the early years sector. We know – and the government knows -  that the only way to address rising costs is to properly fund the sector, but instead ministers see fit to waste time on a policy that doesn’t benefit anyone except the politicians who can claim to be ‘tackling rising childcare costs’.  

"We urge the government to rethink this foolish direction of travel before the impact on our vital sector becomes not only catastrophic, but irreversible."