This led to the rapid growth of the “for-profit” childcare sector. In 2006, the government passed the Childcare Act, which removed powers from local authorities to fund or provide childcare directly, and legislated for “childcare market management”. The local authorities’ job is now mainly to manage and co-ordinate supply and demand for childcare by providing information for parents about the local childcare market and other services for children, and to stimulate the creation of local for-profit providers to meet demand. Many local authorities now have “childcare business managers”.