For those interested, this is what Ed Balls actually said:
Although this was not debated in Parliament during the passage of the Childcare Act 2006, I have today written to Christine Gilbert, and I am copying the letter to the House of Commons Library, to make it clear that reciprocal child care arrangements between parents where there is no payment involved should not be a matter for regulation, and I have agreed today with Ofsted that with immediate effect this will be beyond the scope of its child care inspections. We will make this crystal clear by changing the regulations in the coming period.<br />
~~~ End Quote ~~~<br />
<br />
So looks like we will need to see what changes to regulations 'in the coming period' are actually made. As things stand now, it is still surely illegal as the regulations have not been amended. The change looks as though it is such that Ofsted are being told to turn a blind eye to such matters, if on checking it turns out to be a reciprocal arrangement between parents which involves no financial payment. <br />
<br />
I do wonder what is meant by "between parents" - is that between 2 parents, 3 parents, 4, more? Is it only when care is of the children from 2 families, or does it include care of children from more than 2 families? <br />
What about "no payment involved" - does that actually mean money? Is the LewisPound considered to be money, or not - given it isn't legal tender to my knowledge. What about other bartering systems - are they counted as "payment" or not?<br />
<br />
To me it seems as though this is not yet very clear. Amendments to the regulations will with luck make it clearer as to what is and isn't considered to be payment.