THE North Cotswolds has been singled out as one of the areas in Gloucestershire where new grants will be available to childminders because demand for their services outstrips supply.

The cash is to encourage an increase in the number of registered childminders and to make the existing ones more flexible.

People setting up as childminders or existing ones who can start looking after children with special needs or those with parents doing shift work, will now be able to claim grants of between £112 and £300.

Gloucestershire County Council's Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (GEYDCP) is dishing out the cash, which comes from the Department for Education and Employment and the European Social Fund.

GEYDCP's external funding manager Deborah Lawson said: "This is a new and exciting initiative within the National Childcare Strategy, and complements the campaign to recruit more childcare workers."

Theresa Batchelor, information assistant with the county's Family and Children Information Service, said 22 childminders in the north Cotswolds covered the area between Great Rissington, Moreton and Chipping Campden.

While they have about 40 full and part-time vacancies, they are not always at times when parents need childcare, and more childminders, especially during late afternoons and school holidays, are needed.

She explained the minimum grant would pay for the applicants' registration fees, 15 months membership of the National Childminding Association, public liability insurance for 15 months, a fire blanket and business pack.

The grants will be increased to a maximum of £300 in cases where requests for additional equipment needed to make a safe environment, such as fireguards, are accepted.

For further information about the scheme call the Family and Children Information Service on 01452 336100.