Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
Late challenge halts West Coast Rail deal
Coalition ministers had been expected to sign the 13-year contract with Aberdeen-based First Group, worth £13.3 billion, several days ago. However, it had been confirmed that due to the legal challenge, the contract had not been signed and “the competition remains live”.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin, which has run the West Coast Main Line since 1997, launched the challenge last week after losing its attempt to continue operating the route when ministers opted to hand the deal to FirstGroup.
But ministers have come under pressure from Labour at Westminster to defer signing the contract so that MPs can examine the deal. More than 165,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the decision to give the contract to FirstGroup to be reconsidered.
The firm has said that it wanted to proceed “without delay or disruption” and would continue to prepare to start running the franchise on 9 December.
A FirstGroup spokesman said: “The Department for Transport’s process rigorously examined and tested the bids in detail.
“The DfT have said that despite the legal challenge, which they intend to defend robustly, they expect to sign the contract soon. Our focus is to ensure a smooth transition with continuity for staff and passengers alike.”
A Virgin spokesman welcomed the delay and said that the rail operator was now “waiting to see what the next stage” of the legal process was.
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