Written by: Published:

Beyond these disparities, there are overarching problems with the quality of provision related to the rigour and standards of the inspection regime, and the qualification levels and availability of staff. [...] 8 In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government committed to significantly increasing spending on early childhood education and care (ECEC).i However, serious concerns remain about the sufficiency of the hourly funding, the availability of staff and their working conditions, and the implications for the quantity and quality of available provision. [...] Under current government plans, 80% of the cost of ECEC provision will be funded by the state by the end of 2024 – up from just under 50% when the expanded investment was announced.1 Despite this, because of the marketised model of supply and the conditional nature of support for parents, access to ECEC provision will likely continue to feel more like a subsidised purchase than a public service. [...] These two factors are intrinsically connected because the quantity and quality of provision in any given area are likely to be determined by the level of demand for provision (in turn mediated by the level of government funding people have access to), the willingness and ability of households to pay for additional hours or extra costs on top of government-funded hours, and the costs of operating i. [...] The current responsibility of local authorities to shape the local market to ensure sufficiency and quality of provision is constrained by their lack of meaningful powers or resources to do so, as well as by limits on their ability to step in and directly deliver provision.64 Local authorities must be empowered to play a much more active role in coordinating the quality and coverage of ECEC provis.