Group 10: Administrative arrangements for the provision of funded childcare (Amendments 26, 27, 28)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:50 pm on 5 December 2018.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 6:50, 5 December 2018

Thank you, Llywydd. I think that helps explain something for me. I think we genuinely have a misunderstanding. What this Bill is about is the checking of eligibility and the application, through the mechanism of HMRC, of eligibility for parents to access the childcare offer. What you were talking about, Janet, then was the aspect of actually delivering the offer. I will be back in front of Assembly Members—well, if I'm still in this post—some time in the future when we come to the full roll-out to do what local authorities have asked us to do, which is then to put in place the structure of how we actually co-ordinate delivery across the whole of Wales. It's separate. 

So, let me just turn to the amendments here. You rightly restate what I've said previously in terms of amendment 26—I don't see what's to be gained by restating a duty that local authorities already have in respect of ensuring sufficient childcare is available within their areas. The existing duty, as you said, is also broader than what is proposed, as it requires local authorities to have regard to the need for childcare suitable for disabled children, and for childcare using the Welsh language.

Amendment 27 seems to be seeking to bring within the scope of subordinate legislation much of the operational detail we're planning to include in the administrative scheme. We're going to learn, we're going to continue to learn, from experience with this offer, and the administrative scheme is exactly the mechanism that gives us the important flexibility to adjust and review those administrative, operational, front-end arrangements as we go. The administrative scheme is not some excuse to hide issues from Assembly Members. I've already brought it forward in framework form to share with Members, and I would genuinely welcome further scrutiny of the scheme in the spring.

In terms of amendment 28, I'd like to reiterate what I've said previously about the need for providers to be registered and inspected to take part in the offer. We've always been clear about that and our reasons for this.

And simply to refer to the remarks you made in closing a moment ago on the previous bunch of amendments: if there are relatives, grandparents and others out there who want to actually make use of this scheme—including in provision for their own children as well as others, because I've seen some very good provision of people operating in houses with six children, two of which are maybe their own grandchildren and so on—they can do that. They just need to register as well. And there are grandparents who do that, I have to say. 

Now, I think we should also keep in mind that there are already a suite of standards that childcare providers are required to comply with. They're fully detailed in our national minimum standards, and they were only revised, in fact, in April 2016.

So, on this basis, with those explanations, I hope that's explained why we can't support amendments 26, 27 or 28.