Critical development of thousands of young people

I was contacted on Thursday afternoon by a group of young mums whose children attended a pre-school in Pembury. The nursery was run by a private individual as a profit-making company.

The problem? Increasingly prohibitive Government legislation made it difficult for small pre-schools like this one to continue in business, and it really didn't take a lot for the owner of this one to simply pull the plug. And that's just what she did - telling parents on Wednesday evening that their children would have nowhere to go in around a week. And, lest they should try and at least run it themselves in the short term, she was also selling all the play equipment elsewhere.

I can understand how increasingly punitive Government legislation can dishearten small business owners. I can even understand why it would seem pointless to carry on if your profit line was shrinking week by week.

What I can't understand though, is how a Government who pretend that pre-school education is such a high priority for their administration, would make it so hard for these providers to stay in business.

Sort yourself out Mr Brown - the critical development of thousands of young people is at stake.