50% more nurseries shut down

Closures could scupper Tories' plans to extend free childcare

- NICOLA SMALL

NURSERY closures soared by 50% last year, putting the Government's plans to expand free childcare in peril.

Some 216 nurseries in England had to shut in the 12 months to September, up from 144 in 2021/22.

The National Day Nurseries Association last night blamed years of underfunding for the closures.

And it said parents going back to work when more funded childcare starts to be rolled out in April may struggle to find a nursery place.