Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the cost of privately-provided child care; what comparison she has made with the amounts which parents can claim for childcare from the Government; and if she will make a statement.

The Department for Education uses a range of cost information from a number of difference sources. These sources include our Parents’ Survey, which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2012-to-2013, and independent surveys, such as the Family and Childcare Trust Annual Childcare Cost Survey 2015 which can be found at: www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcare-cost-survey-2015

We increased funding for childcare by £1 billion last Parliament, meaning that we spent £5 billion on childcare in 2014-15. We were the first government to fund 15 hours a week of free childcare for all three- and four-year-olds and for disadvantaged two-year-olds. The funding for all three- and four-year-olds is worth around £2,500 a year per child; and the funding for around 40% of two-year-olds is also worth around £2,500 a year per child. We are introducing an additional 15 hours of free childcare a week for three- and four-year-olds of working families, worth a further £2,500 a year per child, from September 2017.

We will be introducing Tax-Free Childcare from early 2017, under which up to 1.8 million working families could benefit by up to £2,000 a year per child. For working parents on low and middle incomes, working tax credit pays up to 70% of their childcare costs which could be worth up to £6,370 for their first child. Under Universal Credit, the subsidy rate will increase to 85% of childcare costs and support will be available, for the first time, to those working fewer than 16 hours per week.