East Belfast Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle has welcomed the allocation of £12m funding for a new childcare strategy for Northern Ireland. He also said it’s vital that a lead department is appointed to oversee a strong new childcare strategy as a matter of urgency.
Chris Lyttle MLA, who has campaigned on the issue of childcare for projects in East Belfast, said: “This announcement of funding is excellent news and is long overdue.
“It is vitally important that a lead government department is appointed immediately to oversee the creation of a strong childcare strategy. This issue needs to be addressed urgently as there are currently 50 school-aged childcare schemes across Northern Ireland whose funding from OFMDFM will run out on 31 March this year.
“This is about our children’s development and keeping adults in employment, so the government must act decisively to implement a positive and well-resourced strategy on this matter.”
ENDS