To ask the Minister of Education for an update on establishing a childcare strategy to provide free, or more affordable childcare, to support those aiming to enter the workforce.

My department continues to progress the development of an Executive Early Learning and Childcare Strategy as a matter of priority. Work is now focusing on the development of a bespoke Northern Ireland package of measures to meet the outcomes we want to achieve, both in the short and longer-term. These include consideration of affordability and enabling parental employment.

To assist with this, all departments have been invited to allocate staff to a Task and Finish Group which will ensure cross-departmental input across the range of issues the strategy needs to address.

I have bid for funding to enable me to take forward short-term actions in the 2024/25 financial year. I will work with my Executive colleagues on this but progress will ultimately depend on the funds being made available to my department.