Among the requirements are that each new daycare facility receive a licence from Kind & Gezin, the Flemish agency for families, and that staff speak Dutch, in order for the facility to be eligible for subsidies. Some crèches that were previously registered with Kind & Gezin have now switched to the French-speaking equivalent to avoid the new language rule.

The government’s aim is to make a place available by 2020 for every child under the age of 2.5 years requiring daycare. At 2.5, toddlers become eligible to enter pre-school, which is free except for supervision of children before and after normal school hours. Welfare minister Jo Vandeurzen has promised extra resources to pay for the extension of daycare provision to help reach that target. How much that will be has not yet been specified, which was one of the stumbling blocks to obtaining the agreement of opposition parties last week.

At present, Flanders is suffering a growing shortage of daycare places, with estimates that 3,000 new places will be required by 2016. Vandeurzen has promised 1,000 new places this year. All daycare will now be organised on three levels: family care (child-minders), group care (crèches) and home care (babysitters or nannies). Extra subsidies will be given to daycare that operates a means-tested payment system or that works with disadvantaged families.

UnieKO, the organisation for independent daycare facilities in Flanders, has warned that the new decree could lead to an almost doubling of the cost of daycare, from an average of €22 a day to €41.50.

Meanwhile in Brussels, where the shortage of places is even more acute, welfare and family minister Brigitte Grouwels (pictured) this week took part in the demolition of one crèche in Ukkel to make way for another larger one. The Pluchke crèche is currently housed in an old building of the parish church and looks after 57 children. The new premises will have room for 75.