The government has announced a £16.8 million package to help small and medium-sized businesses provide childcare for their employees.
The workplace nurseries capital programme will be delivered by regional development agencies, led by the London Development Agency.
The scheme aims to make it easier for parents to balance their work and home lives, by helping employers provide childcare close to the workplace. It is also designed to enable small and medium sized enterprises to provide reliable and accessible childcare appropriate to the needs of their employees.
Speaking at the Local Government Chronicle Conference, children, young people and families minister Beverley Hughes said: “We need to talk to parents about their childcare needs, but we also need to engage their employers.
“We want to ask them to help assess the childcare needs of their staff and raise awareness of the importance of family friendly policies. I want to see local authorities working closely with business as well as voluntary and private providers to ensure a diverse range of high quality care is available in every locality.”
