§ 5. Ms Rosie WintertonIf he will make a statement about the future regulation of children's day care services and supervised activities under the Children Act 1989. [13813]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Under-Secretaries of State for Education and Employment, my hon. Friends the Members for Birmingham, Yardley (Ms Morris) and for Newport, East (Mr. Howarth), and I will be consulting, early in the new year, on our plans to develop an integrated regulation and inspection system that will promote day care and early-years education for young children, provide a quality assurance framework in which parents can have confidence and reduce bureaucracy for providers. That was another commitment in our general election manifesto which we are carrying out.
§ Ms WintertonIs my hon. Friend aware of a case in my constituency where a two-year-old child, Ben Chorlton, walked out of a creche provided by a private gym into a nearby bus station? The creche was not registered because it operated for less than two hours per day. Does he believe that it is acceptable for a creche to operate for one hour and 55 minutes per day solely to avoid registration and inspection? Will he meet me to discuss the implications of the case?
§ Mr. BoatengNo, it is thoroughly unacceptable. The two-hour time limit for registration was introduced to ensure that one-off or less formal, unremunerated short-term care arrangements were not unnecessarily burdened by unworkable regulations.
It was never intended that proper regulation and supervision should be undermined by attempts such as my hon. Friend has described to remove the basis on which they are carried out. I look forward to meeting her to do all that we can to support Doncaster social services in ensuring that the facility puts itself in order.