To ask the Minister of Education to detail his plans to increase the provision of free and affordable childcare in line with the rest of the UK.

Since my appointment as Education Minister, I have made the development and implementation of the Early Learning and Childcare Strategy a priority and while I have stated that our ambition should not be limited, it is important that we take time to carefully consider our options and to secure the necessary funding.

I want to deliver a bespoke affordability scheme for Northern Ireland that addresses the challenges we face and delivers the outcomes we want to achieve. This will include taking on board the learning from other jurisdictions.