Of England's nine regional development agencies, five - representing the North East, North West, West Midlands, East Midlands and East - were absent from the first meeting of childcare leads hosted by the London Development Agency.
LDA board member Dame Sally Powell said: "Given that Patricia Hewitt (Secretary of State for Trade and Industry) has asked RDAs to look on childcare as an economic issue and to develop strategies around childcare in their regions... it's disappointing that four years later only four turned up to a meeting."
A spokesman for the East of England Development Agency declined to explain why it was not at the meeting.
The NorthEast Development Agency said the staff member who would have gone to the meeting was on secondment and had returned to a previous post.
But an agency spokeswoman said it was developing an economic inclusion team to be represented on the childcare strategy group.
A spokesman for Advantage West Midlands said: "It's unfortunate we couldn't send a representative to this meeting, but it in no way reflects our interest."
The NorthWest Development Agency and East Midlands Development Agency hadn't replied as Children Now went to press.
