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Childcare Bill

I shall not speak to my amendment, but will support Amendment No. 41, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Bolton, on the quality and sustainability of childcare places. Before doing so, I apologise to your Lordships for speaking at too great a length and without clarity both at Second Reading and on the first day of Committee. I am afraid that I have been taking too much on for the past few months. I am sorry to have added to the burden on your Lordships, particularly those on the Front Benches. Her Majesty’s Government have already made the case for introducing an assessment of quality by local authorities. The Minister has acknowledged the continuing challenge of the childcare workforce. I welcome what the Minister said about improvements in the level of graduate staff, but we are some years away from seeing a graduate in every setting. Given the situation, we must be concerned that much of the available provision cannot be of the quality we would wish. In seeking to act as good parents, we should take every opportunity to promote quality. I hope that the Minister will welcome the noble Baroness’s amendment. I will write to the Minister on what local authorities might do in terms of these reviews and to ask the sort of questions that I have put in the past—on the parameters governing good quality childcare, such as turnover and level of qualifications of staff, length of exposure to childcare and the age of children. I look forward to the Minister’s response.