Written Question
Thursday 23rd September 2021
Asked by:
John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question
to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to improve accessibility to early years services.
Answered by Will Quince
High quality, accessible childcare is important in ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life. As of 31 March 2021, 96% of providers on the Ofsted Early Years Register were judged Good or Outstanding, a substantial increase from 74% in 2012. Ofsted are responsible for monitoring the quality of provision.
The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare through regular attendance data collection and monitoring the open or closed status of providers. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any significant sufficiency or supply issues and we have not seen a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020. The department provides support to local authorities with low take up of the entitlements.
All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Take-up of this entitlement is high, with 90% of 3 and 4 year olds registered for a 15 hours per week free early education place in January 2021. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to an additional 15 hours to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare. Households on a low income of under £15,400 (or £16,190 if receiving child tax credits) can qualify for 15 hours free childcare for 2 year olds.
In addition to free early education entitlements, the government offers Tax-Free Childcare for children from 0 to 11 years old, or up to 16 if disabled. For every £8 parents pay into their Tax-Free Childcare account, the government will pay £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year. For disabled children, the maximum is £4,000 per year. In total, 308,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 364,000 children in June 2021.
Working parents on a low income may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs (for children under 16) through Universal Credit Childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children, payable in arrears.
As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we are investing £180 million for training for early years staff to support the very youngest children’s learning and development. This includes Nuffield Early Language Intervention, improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during COVID-19. Two thirds of eligible primary schools have signed up and we estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development. Further detail on the additional training will be made available in due course.
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
"New clause 8 is a simple request to the Minister to issue some form of guidance about the relevant route for appeals before the legislation comes into force. I think it is quite significant. We are introducing a complex system of complaints and processes, as well as the potential for …..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
"It would be helpful if we got on the record from the Minister the process that the Government envisage the director undertaking. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that it is not an either/or, but let us make that explicit on the face of the Bill. If we can …..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
"I think it is fairly easy. A person can pursue an HEP against the NUS via the OIA or the OfS, or an ET, overseen by the DFSAF, and of course the DFE. What is the problem?..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
"In my view, this issue will evolve over time. Some of the issues that are contentious today may not be in the future, and some issues that we cannot foresee at the moment may well become contentious. On that basis, the director is going to be in a difficult position …..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
"The simple point is that this is possibly one of the most contentious appointments in government, because it deals with contentious issues. Without some element of robust non-partisan protection in the appointment process, the whole operation of the Bill might be undermined. That is why extra safeguards are needed to …..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
"I caution Government Members. There have been reports recently of a pattern of behaviour by Government of making appointments of, in effect, members of and donors to the Tory party—some have described them as cronies. That evidences, I think, an attitude in some parts of Government that overrides the very …..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
"To follow up on that point, we and a large number of organisations and individuals will be extremely interested in the appointment of this individual. If there is any whiff of a political appointment, it will completely undermine the Bill and the Government’s intentions, whether we agree with them or …..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eleventh sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 22 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Twelfth sitting)
"I put my name to the new clause as a point of principle, because I believe that we accumulate legislation—it builds up—but we never really review it properly to see whether it is effective enough and whether it needs proper amendment. This is basically a pragmatic administrative clause that, as …..."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Twelfth sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Mon 20 Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)
"The same...."John McDonnell - View Speech
View all John McDonnell (Lab - Hayes and Harlington) contributions to the debate on: Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)