At least this has been cleared up, although if the Guardian's wording accurately reflects what actually happened, it's still rather worrying the way it comes across as the minister having to get some sort of agreement with Ofsted, and saying that parents will "no longer" have to undergo the formal childcare courses etc. when he's also clearly stating that the regulations never said that they had to in the first place.
But we're seeing this sort of thing more and more, where even when the legal people in the government make it perfectly clear what the law allows or does not allow, officials in some other department decide that "That's not our interpretation of the law," and continue to try to apply their own rules. Two examples which come to mind immediately:
1. Police forces continuing to seize vehicles at the roadside just because it doesn't appear on the Motor Insurance Database and the driver cannot produce proof of insurance on the spot, even though they've been told that this is illegal and to stop.
2. Local authorities trying to enforce extra fees and requirements over Building Regulations, even though the central government office in charge of enforcing the rules has told them in no uncertain terms that they aren't allowed to do so.
