To ask the Minister of Education why £1.8 million in non-ringfenced resource for the Early Learning & Childcare Strategy has been returned.

£2m was allocated within the 2024-25 Early Learning and Childcare Funding package for a Targeted Business Support Scheme for childcare providers. The Department for the Economy (DfE) is leading on a scoping exercise to develop a clearer picture of the business support requirements of the childcare sector to help inform an appropriate government response. To date, DfE has drawn down just over £150,000 of the £2m available. The scoping work is not due to be completed until the end of March 2025 and therefore the balance was returned to the Department of Finance as part of the January monitoring exercise, given that this funding is ringfenced by the Executive.