£400m for UK early years sector will ‘buy time’ but isn’t enough, experts say

Money comes as state-funded childcare expands from next April but providers say more is needed to stop nurseries from closing

• Can the minister for children deliver the government’s flagship early years scheme?

A funding injection of £400m into the early years sector will “buy time” ahead of a massive expansion of state-funded childcare in the UK, but will not be enough to keep nursery doors from closing, a body representing providers has warned.

Ministers have announced that applications for the first wave of new government-funded childcare offers will open to working parents of two-year-olds on 2 January, and have increased the amount of money it gives to local authorities to pay for the care.