Issues with recruitment and the retention of staff is contributing to a childcare crisis affecting young children and their families.
Wiltshire Council's Children's Select Committee met in Trowbridge County Hall on Tuesday to discuss concerns highlighted in their autumn report.
It found that 64 more childminders have closed rather than opened since 2015 and due to a lack of qualified staff in nurseries and preschools, only 8,950 places of 10,231 are available.
Wiltshire Council said it hopes to promote childcare as "a credible choice for young people, as well as those returning to work or thinking of a career change".
New housing developments being built in the county leave the potential for 4,415 new spaces to be needed, the committee heard.
But there has been a downward trend in childminding solutions for parents in Wiltshire.
