To ask the Minister of Education, given that the draft Early Learning and Childcare Strategy notes that consideration has been given to capping fees, to detail the level of scoping that was completed by his Department in respect of this.

As part of the development of the draft Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Strategy, my Department undertook significant scoping and analysis of how fee capping models operate in practice, including the funding, regulatory and delivery mechanisms typically required to support them. Officials also engaged with counterparts in other jurisdictions, including the Republic of Ireland, to understand how different approaches to managing parental fees operate and the wider system supports that accompany them.

Alongside this, the Department considered relevant independent evidence and research and drew on engagement with childcare providers and sector representatives through the ELC Stakeholder Engagement Forum and wider strategy development activity.

This scoping informed the position reflected in the draft Strategy, recognising that there is significant fiscal, regulatory and operational implications associated with such an approach. For these reasons, the capping of fees is not included within the draft Strategy but will be kept under consideration.