Childcare Bill

I am in the embarrassing situation of the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, having given my reply to the best part of the amendment. She has set out the Government’s view of the importance of local authorities ensuring that there is a sufficiently diverse range of provision in an area to meet those needs. How a local authority goes about it will, of course, very much vary depending on the circumstances. I also stress that, in the wider issue of cultural sensitivity, the needs of black and minority-ethnic children and their parents in under-five settings, the foundation stage explicitly states that no child should be excluded or disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture, religion, home language, family background, disability or gender. There is therefore a requirement on local authorities to ensure that provision meets those concerns. The curriculum guidance for the foundation stage also gives detailed, practical examples of how the needs of children from diverse backgrounds should be met. The noble Baroness’s amendments would include a specific reference to the needs of black and minority-ethnic families in this part of the Bill. As I have said, the legislative requirements already meet those concerns. We absolutely agree about the importance of these groups. In addition, the assessment duty in Clause 11, again, plays an important role in ensuring that local authorities can identify the particular needs of their communities. As well as the duty to assess sufficiency, there are other provisions in this Bill and existing legislation promoting the interests of these families. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 already places a duty on local authorities to exercise their functions with a view to promoting equality of opportunity between persons of different racial groups. Through our statutory guidance under this Bill, we will give information and examples which highlight practical ways in which local authorities can ensure that childcare provision is inclusive, reflecting the cultural backgrounds and needs of black and minority-ethnic families. Ofsted also takes these issues extremely seriously in its inspections, and I will invite the chief inspector to write to the noble Baroness directly, setting out the particular steps it takes to ensure that its inspections show sufficient cultural sensitivity and actively promote the fulfilment of this duty. Evidence suggests that the biggest barriers to access to childcare by black and minority-ethnic families are cost and lack of information. The issue of cost will be addressed through our duty to have regard to lower-income families. The duty in Clause 12 to provide information, advice and assistance will help all families to access suitable childcare that meets their needs. The duty in Clause 13 on local authorities to secure information, advice and training to providers will help them to address the individual needs of all children, including those from black and other minority-ethnic groups. We are confident that, given all these provisions, there is no need to make reference to the specific needs of black and minority-ethnic families in the Bill, and therefore hope that the noble Baroness will be satisfied with our response.