ECONOMIC recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic will be hampered by childcare providers going bust this winter unless the government offers more support, ministers were warned today.

One in 10 providers could close over the coming months, with as many as one in four at risk in rural and remote areas, the County Councils Network (CCN) said – even without taking a second wave into account.

The CCN, representing 36 unitary and county-council areas in England with a combined population of 26 million, said that 80 per cent of its members thought that ten per cent of nurseries and childminders in their areas were at risk.

And 20 per cent – particularly those in rural areas – thought they might lose a quarter of their provision thanks to falling demand and the increased costs involved in opening safely.

Announcing the results of its survey, the CCN pointed out that residents of remote areas already have fewer childcare options, and that even a few closures could result in people having to travel further or not be able to access childcare at all.

This would hinder economic-recovery efforts – especially if there were more local and national lockdowns, the network warned.

It is calling on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to commit to supporting the childcare sector until the end of the pandemic, and to allow councils to direct funds to providers in areas that already have relatively few services and where closures could have the worst impact.

The government has pledged to fund early education fees throughout the autumn term but has yet to announce an extension.

CCN children and young people spokesman Councillor Keith Glazier said: “The government’s financial support in this time has been invaluable, but a dead stop to it in the winter will cause huge problems for providers who have only weathered the storm of coronavirus with this assistance.” 

Labour’s Tulip Siddiq, shadow minister for children and early years, said that her party “has been warning about childcare closures for months, yet ministers have sat on their hands as the early-years sector and workforce move ever closer to a cliff edge. 

“It is time for this incompetent government to start listening and targeting support at sectors like childcare which need it the most.”