Plans to offer pre-schoolers in England 30 free hours of childcare may be in jeopardy if not enough childminders and nurseries offer places, MPs warn.Next year, the current entitlement of three and four-year-olds to 15 hours of free care a week will be doubled. But there is a risk providers will opt not to offer the extra hours over fears they will be left out of pocket, the Commons Public Accounts Committee says. The Department for Education (DfE) says it disputes the PAC findings.
The cross-party group of MPs also says there are “unacceptable variations” in information available to parents about access to free childcare in England.