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Childcare: Worsley and Eccles

Asked by Michael WheelerLabourDepartment for EducationTabled Answered 4 November 2025UIN 84023

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the size of the waiting list for accessing early years childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024-25 academic year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life.

We do not retain data on school-based nursery places available in the Worsley and Eccles constituency. However, according to the department’s latest Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey for the reporting year 2024, there were 52,200 registered nursery class childcare places available in the North West region of England. The median hourly parent-paid fee for childcare in the region was £5.75 per hour for children under two, £5.60 per hour for two year-olds, and £5.50 per hour for three and four year-olds.

We do not have an estimate of the size of the waiting list for accessing early years childcare in Worsley and Eccles constituency in the 2024/25 academic year.

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