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The prime minister has been unable to guarantee a childcare place to everyone that wants one, as the government rolls out its new scheme.

Eligible parents and carers of two-year-olds are now entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare per week, as of Monday 1 April, with further extensions planned.

The policy was announced in March last year and is being rolled out as the government lags significantly behind Labour in opinion polls ahead of the upcoming general election.

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What is the government’s childcare policy?

From 1 April this year, eligible working parents of children aged two and up have been able to get 15 hours of free childcare support.

From September this year, these 15 hours will extend to eligible parents of those aged nine months plus.

Finally, the government wants all children aged from nine months to five years to be eligible for 30 hours of free childcare from September 2025 – although this will be well after the next general election.

But there have been concerns raised about the ability for the sector to absorb the uptick in childcare places which the government wants to offer.

Asked whether he could guarantee everyone who wanted a place would get one, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was unable to provide a concrete assurance.

He told BBC Radio Newcastle that it was “really important to build capacity in the sector”.

Mr Sunak added that the government was working to increase the number of childcare workers, saying it has “cut a lot of red tape” – including making it easier to become a childminder and change locations.

He also pointed to a trial offering £1,000 to people who join the sector.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was previously unable to confirm everyone would get a place.

Government figures collated by the Department for Education show that the number of childcare providers in England fell from 59,400 in 2022 to 56,300 in 2023.

However, the number of places on offer increased from 1,543,000 to 1,558,100, and the number of paid staff went from 334,400 to 347,300.

Labour has released what it calls a “dossier of childcare chaos” attacking what it calls a “childcare pledge without a plan”.

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‘A pledge without a plan’

Using figures from regulator Ofsted, Labour claims the number of childcare places available fell by 1,000 last year, rather than rising by around 15,000 as the government stats found.

Asked about the discrepancy, Ms Keegan said: “Ofsted doesn’t have complete data – they only have the people who have registered with them.

“So it doesn’t include pre-schools, those ones that are attached to schools – it also doesn’t include childminders.

“So as usual, Labour are looking at the wrong data and looking at the wrong end of the stick.”

Labour has launched a review into early education and childcare, headed by former Ofsted inspector Sir David Bell, to “deliver the accessible, affordable early years education that will give children the best start in life”.

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The Conservatives capitalised on this by claiming the opposition wants to scrap its policy rollout.

In a letter to the Labour frontbench, Ms Keegan said this had caused “uncertainty in the market” as childcare bosses are “unsure whether they should invest in expanding their business”.

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Indian authorities seize $190M in crypto tied to BitConnect Ponzi scheme

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Indian authorities seize 0M in crypto tied to BitConnect Ponzi scheme

Indian authorities have seized nearly $190 million worth of crypto tied to the notorious BitConnect Ponzi scheme, which collapsed in 2018.

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‘Once in a generation moment’: Starmer vows to ‘keep US and Europe together’ amid Russia threat

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US officials heading to Saudi Arabia for Russia-Ukraine peace talks

The prime minister has spoken of a “once in a generation moment” for the UK, US and Europe to work together and warned against NATO “divisions” – as two senior American officials head to Saudi Arabia for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK will “work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together” amid the threat faced from Russia.

His comments came after the Ukrainian president cautioned: “The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”

Earlier on Saturday, US officials confirmed Europe would not be involved in the upcoming peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Analysis: Peace talks risk short-term win that rewards Putin

Washington also sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv.

“It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in NATO,” said Sir Keir on Saturday night.

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“We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”

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Zelenskyy warns against the ‘danger’ of the Russian army

The French president is thought to be convening crisis talks between European leaders and NATO, which the prime minister will attend.

Sir Keir will then take messages from that meeting to Washington DC when he meets US President Donald Trump the week after, according to Downing Street sources.

During a talk at a security conference in Munich, Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said he was “very glad that President Macron has called our leaders to Paris” to discuss “in a very serious fashion” the challenges posed by Mr Trump.

Meanwhile, US national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff are thought to be going to Saudi Arabia for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump said there had been an agreement to begin negotiations about ending the war in Ukraine, after holding phone calls with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president alluded to the conversations at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, suggesting Europe should be playing a role in the negotiations as well.

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‘We need a European army’

“Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement, and the same rule should apply to all of Europe,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

“The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”

He told world leaders it is time for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe”, adding his army was “not enough”.

Following his call with President Putin, Mr Trump posted on Truth Social saying: “We both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”

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‘Unlikely’ Ukraine gets old borders back

Mr Trump had told White House reporters he did not see any way “that a country in Russia’s position” could allow Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine would get all of its occupied land back.

It comes after Sir Keir told Mr Zelenskyy in recent days that Ukraine was still on an “irreversible path” to joining NATO.

However, on Saturday, the US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said peace talks could focus on territorial concessions from Russia and targeting Mr Putin’s oil revenues.

“Russia is really a petrostate,” he said as he suggested Western powers needed to do more to enforce sanctions on Russia.

Mr Zelenskyy said the main issue in peace talks was to “not allow everything to go according to Putin’s plan”.

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Tether working with US lawmakers to shape stablecoin policy: report

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Tether working with US lawmakers to shape stablecoin policy: report

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Tether has a market capitalization of over $142 billion — making it the largest stablecoin issuer.

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