Just one in 10 councils predict they will meet the deadline to create 85,000 Government-funded childcare places by autumn 2025, spending watchdogs have warned.

A National Audit Office (NAO) assessment of the Government's early years childcare policy – designed to get parents back into the labour market – found that, while ministers are on course to meet their initial placement target of 7,000 extra spaces by this month, councils' capacity constraints have left longer-term goals at risk.