Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of the £100k cut off for free childcare provision on (a) overall workforce productivity, (b) willingness of impacted employees to take on additional hours and responsibilities and (c) willingness of impacted NHS clinical staff to take on additional hours of work and responsibilities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All families are eligible for universal 15 hours of free childcare for three and four year-olds, including those who earn over £100,000.
The £100,000 level was chosen to correspond with income tax thresholds and to be easily understandable for parents. Only a very small proportion of parents, 3.8% of parents of three and four year-olds in 2023/24, earn over the £100,000 threshold.
The government needs to use public funds in a way that provides value for money and considers it reasonable to target this funding at those individuals earning under £100,000 adjusted net income.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of items of correspondence from Parliamentarians received by (a) her Department, (b) herself and (c) her ministerial team have not received a substantive response in each month since August 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby
The total number of cases received by the department since August 2024 that are due for reply but have yet to receive a substantive response is 31.
The breakdown is as follows:
Parliamentary cases that have not yet had a substantive reply | ||||||
Month Received | Secretary of State for Education | Ministerial Team | Department | |||
| Volume | % | Volume | % | Volume | % |
August 2024 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
September 2024 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
October 2024 | 1 | 2.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 1 | 0.2% |
November 2024 | 1 | 1.8% | 3 | 0.5% | 4 | 0.7% |
December 2024 | 3 | 6.7% | 12 | 2.2% | 15 | 2.5% |
January 2025 | 1 | 4.8% | 10 | 5.6% | 11 | 5.6% |
Total | 6 | 2.0% | 25 | 0.9% | 31 | 1.0% |
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the minimum wage announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 on the cost of childcare.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed £1.8 billion in the 2025/26 financial year to support the expansion of the early years entitlement offer for eligible working parents from 15 hours to 30 hours from September 2025. This £1.8 billion will mean the budget for childcare entitlements next year will be over £8 billion, reflecting the additional money needed for the 30 hour expansion, and ensuring funding for the entitlements reflects the national living wage.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increases to employers national insurance contributions on the cost to parents of pre-school childcare.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham to the answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12804.