Children’s Minister resigns and Education Minister becomes Chancellor
Children and Families Minister Will Quince, who has the brief for childcare and early education, resigned after defending the Prime Minister with information that later emerged as “inaccurate”. 
The MP for Colchester who has been Children’s Minister since September said in his resignation letter: “I wish my successor well. It is the best job in government.”
The previous Secretary of State for Education, Nadim Zahawi, accepted the job of Chancellor of the Exchequer following the resignation of Rishi Sunak. Other education ministers also resigned. On Thursday morning it was announced that James Cleverly MP for Braintree had been appointed as the new Secretary of State for Education.
Purnima Tanuku OBE, NDNA’s Chief Executive has written to the new Chancellor asking for him to urgently consider removing business rates and VAT for nurseries and to urgently review childcare funding.
Purnima said: “The resignation of Will Quince leaves the early years sector in an unsettled position yet again. In these turbulent times, the early years workforce always gets on with the job providing the much-needed continuity of education, care and safety for our youngest children and their families. What they need right now is urgent support from the Government to keep them sustainable.
“We are sad to see Mr Quince leave his role suddenly and thank him for his contribution, taking the time to visit many settings during his tenure as Children’s Minister.
“However, we would urge his successor to prioritise the urgent financial support that settings need. We have always said this is not the right time to consult on ratios. We will need the new minister to urgently review the childcare funding system and address their workforce challenges.
“At this critical time for our children, there needs to be leadership at the government level, so we look forward to a new ministerial team being appointed at the Department for Education. We will work with them to prioritise high quality early education and care for our children.
“I have already written to Nadhim Zahawi who has taken on the role of Chancellor to request urgent action on areas like business rates, VAT and funding. As a former Children’s Minister he is well aware of the financial difficulties that the early years sector continues to face. Making nurseries exempt from business rates would be one immediate way to ease financial pressures for those who are struggling with rising costs.”
A further two education ministers Robin Walker, Schools Standards Minister, and Alex Burghart, Apprenticeships and Skills Minister, also resigned today. Robert Halfon, Chair of the Education Select Committee, put out a statement about his loss of confidence in Boris Johnson.
- England
- Alex Burghart
- Michelle Donelan
- Nadhim Zahawi
- Robin Walker
- Will Quince
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