CONCERNS have been raised over the future of childcare provision in Southampton.

Education bosses in the city said childminders and early years education providers are being hit by the pandemic and there might not be enough childcare places in the future should providers go out of business.

Civic chiefs stressed that this is not the case yet and it is believed there will be sufficient spaces as the city emerges from the lockdown.

But they also warned that should this continue the government will need to take urgent action.

The Department for Education (DfE) has pledged to continue to financially support early years providers.

But at a Southampton City Council’s virtual meeting, Anne Downie, early years and childcare manager at the city council, said: “But it is how we administer that if children are not coming forward. That is a real worry. We are seeing quite a reduction in the number of our childcare providers. Normally in the autumn term we have sufficient places but come next spring, next summer if people feel confident to go back to early years settings we might not have sufficient spaces for these children who need them.”

She told members of the Children and Families Scrutiny Panel that some providers are planning to close and on average the city has been losing one childminder a week since the start of the lockdown.

The names of the providers at risk of closure have not been revealed.

But Ms Downie said: “The local authority has a statutory duty to secure sufficient places for two, three and four years old and childcare for working parents so it is a real worry moving forward.”

Cllr Darren Paffey, cabinet member for children and learning at the city council, said

: “As a local authority we are far from alone in having concerns about the impact this may have, especially the long-term impact on children who may be unable to access early years’ education if some go out of business due to underfunding. We are not at that point yet, and at the moment we believe that there will be sufficient childcare spaces available as we begin to emerge from lockdown. However, if this is to continue we need the government to take urgent action to secure the long-term financial future of early years settings. I have written to ask for Ministers to take action.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “We are providing significant financial and business support to protect childcare providers – this includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – and we have continued early years funding to councils, worth a planned £3.6 billion in 2020-21. We have also confirmed that parents that are critical workers normally eligible for the government’s childcare offers will continue receiving these over the summer term even if their income levels fall due to the impact of coronavirus.”