Hello
There's going to be a debate on 'early years provision and nursery settings' in Westminster Hall this coming Thursday at 3pm - and we thought some of you might like to encourage your MPs to take part.
(There's not much online about the debate yet but you can see the listing on the Parliament website here.)
It's a good opportunity to flag to your MP any particular issues you've had (COVID-related or otherwise) with paid childcare.
Perhaps you find childcare extremely expensive - maybe the cost made you think twice about going back to work after taking maternity or other parental leave. Lots of discussion on Mumsnet suggests parents find the government's free childcare hours difficult to fit into a broader childcare schedule. And we've also seen quite a lot of posts about the gap between the point where mothers (or dads, if they take a longer paternity leave) usually go back to work, and the point when the 'free' childcare hours kick in.
And of course, you may have been very much affected by the unavailability of childcare during lockdown earlier this year.
You may also have positive experiences you want to share, of course 
And nursery owners/workers may well want to contact their MPs too (we're not completely sure whether childminders fall under 'early years settings' - let us know if you know the answer.)
If you'd like to contact your MP to share your thoughts with them and ask if they can represent you in the debate, that would be great - and as ever please post here to let us know what you think, too.
Thanks
MNHQ