AQW 28394/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 09/06/2025
Answered On Date: 24/06/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health whether he intends to review the role of the Registered Person in community and voluntary childcare settings.

Answer:

My Department is currently carrying out a review of the Minimum Standards for Childminding and Day Care. The first stage of the review, a public consultation on adult-child ratios and the requirement for all prospective childcare workers to provide a health declaration countersigned by their GP, will close on 20 June 2025.

A Review Reference Group will then be established to consider the wider Minimum Standards in detail and assist with the drafting of a redesigned set of Standards for consultation early in 2026. Any concerns or issues regarding the role of the Registered Person in community and voluntary childcare settings can be raised through that process.