Government urges landlords to let childminders work at home

The government is trying to boost the number of childminders by calling for a review of their tenancy rights, amid concerns that childcare shortages will stymie an upcoming expansion in free care for working families.

Children’s Minister Claire Coutinho has written to housing associations, social landlords and developers, to urge them to allow tenants who are childminders to run their business at home, which is a popular set-up for this type of childcare.

The number of childminders in England fell by over 20% between 2018 and 2022, according to government data. Childcare campaigners have warned that this exodus is primarily about low pay and a lack of adequate state funding, rather than property issues.

“One in eight childminders who want to work are barred from doing so because of a restrictive covenant agreement, or maybe a tenancy agreement, which puts a blanket ban on all businesses,” Coutinho said in an interview on the BBC’s Today programme on Monday.

“So what I’m asking the property sector to do is work with us to create those exemptions for childminding.”

The government’s ambitious childcare expansion plan will provide working families in England with 30 hours of free care a week once their child is nine months old. The plan is due to be introduced in stages from next spring.

But childcare providers and local councils have raised concerns over how this will work in practice. Councils already say they do not have enough childcare spaces to meet local demand, according to a national survey published in March. 

‘Underfunded, undervalued and under-appreciated’

The Early Years Alliance, which represents over 14,000 childcare providers, said today’s announcement would not address the childminder exodus.

“Childminders are a crucial part of the early-years sector, but they continue to be underfunded, undervalued and under-appreciated,” Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said in a statement. 

“We know that, while property restrictions may be an issue for a small proportion of childminders, it will do little – if anything at all – to prompt lasting and effective change.”

Nurseries and childminders have said for many years that the government gives them too little funding to carry out the state’s existing ‘free’ childcare schemes. Providers thus often have to choose between charging families top-up fees, charging higher fees for families who aren’t eligible for the schemes, or going out of business.

There was a sharp rise in nursery closures in the 2022-23 financial year, according to data from the National Day Nurseries Association.

The government has pledged to invest over £4.1 billion by 2027-28 in its free childcare expansion, but this is less than half of what is needed, according to an analysis from the Women’s Budget Group.

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