Ministers have backed down in the face of a cross-party push for childcare to be treated as an infrastructure issue like schools, GPs and public transport, meaning major housebuilders could be obliged to pay towards new childcare facilities.
The campaign was led by the Labour MP Stella Creasy, who argued that the issue of new homes being built without accompanying childcare was exacerbating a national shortfall in provision that has resulted in prices rising to levels unaffordable for many parents.
