Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of mothers in the workforce who would prefer to work fewer hours or not at all to enable them to provide childcare to their children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.
The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.
In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the average number of hours per week that children under the age of two spent in a formal childcare setting in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 by household income.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.
The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.
In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of hours children under the age of two are likely to spend in a formal childcare due to the Government's free childcare provisions in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
In the Government’s Spring Budget on 15 March 2023, the Chancellor announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, the economy and women. By 2027/28, the department will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week (over 38 weeks a year) from the term after their 2nd birthday, benefitting parents of up to 285,000 children. This will be extended to eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and over from September 2024, benefitting up to 640,000 children in total. From September 2025, this will be extended to 30 hours of free childcare per week.
Childcare is a vital enabler for parents to work. The new offer for working parents will tackle this barrier by closing the gap between parental leave ending and the government’s current entitlement offers so that more parents, and especially women, are supported to enter work.
The department monitors the average hours of childcare used by children of different ages via the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents.
In January 2023, 88.5% of disadvantaged 2-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement were taking up between 12.51 and 15 hours of funded childcare per week.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the number of (a) mothers and (b) fathers who are likely to return to the workplace following the Spring Budget 2023.
Answered by John Glen
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK labour market, including assessments of the impact of the Budget, which are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR judged that the overall impact of the policy package announced at Spring Budget 2023 is to increase the level of employment by around 0.3 per cent in 2027-28, this is equivalent to 110,000 individuals. This is the largest upward revision made to potential output as a result of government fiscal policy decisions in any of the OBR’s forecasts since 2010.
Further details can be found in the OBR’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published in March 2023: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2023/
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which local authorities have been invited to to take part in the simplification pathfinder pilot.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The government has published a plan for simplifying the funding landscape for local authorities. This publication follows the commitment within the landmark Levelling Up White Paper, to deliver a more transparent, simple, and accountable approach to funding
The funding simplification pathfinder pilot will test the streamlined delivery of some DLUHC capital funding. All ten local authorities currently in receipt of funding from all three of the following DLUHC-administered capital programmes are eligible to participate in the pilot:
We will shortly be publishing further information about the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot, including the authorities that have confirmed their participation in the pilot.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the last new paediatric patient attended their first appointment at the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust gender and identity development service.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
This information is not held centrally. However, no new first assessment appointments have been offered by the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust since the end of March 2023.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing the full or partial value of the free childcare hours entitlement to be paid to informal childcare providers such as grandparents.
Answered by John Glen
The government is committed to supporting the early years sector and, at Spring Budget, announced an extra £4.4 billion of investment by 27-28 for the free hours offers in England. Through this package, the government will be more than doubling its spend on free childcare hours.
Local authorities are required by legislation to deliver free early education entitlements places through providers registered on the Ofsted Early Years Register. This can include nurseries, childminders (including those registered with a childminder agency) and schools which take children aged two and over and which are therefore exempt from registration with Ofsted as early years providers.
The government recognises that relatives do an incredibly important job in a child’s upbringing and can also help families meet their childcare needs. However, to ensure quality early education, free childcare entitlements cannot be used to pay family members to look after children.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to protect landscapes while delivering Project Gigabit.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government is committed to ensuring everyone receives the coverage and connectivity they need and recognises the need to balance this with environmental considerations.
Broadband providers need to comply with the relevant planning requirements and legislation in conservation areas and protected landscapes.
This is supported by best practice guidance with Natural England and a joint accord with National Parks England on delivery of broadband within the 10 National Parks in England.
Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency is also set to benefit from our innovative Fibre in Water project, which will trial the use of water mains to deploy digital infrastructure.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what representations her Department has received from the pornography industry in the last 12 months; and how many meetings her Department has had with representatives of the industry in that time.
Answered by Paul Scully
Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of online safety stakeholders on a variety of issues. Details of Ministerial meetings are published on the Gov.uk website every quarter.
Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to schools on (a) the collection of pupil data on preferred pronouns and (b) the use of pronouns in schools that do not correspond to those of the pupil’s legally registered sex.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises that this is a complex and sensitive subject for schools to navigate, which is why it is developing guidance to support schools in relation to transgender pupils. The guidance will cover a set of relevant topics. It is important that the Department considers a wide range of views to ensure the guidance is right. As such, the Department has committed to holding a full public consultation on the draft guidance, prior to publication.
With respect to data collection, schools are not legally required to collect data on pupils’ preferred pronouns or on the number of pupils who identify as transgender or present with gender dysphoria. Schools are legally required to keep a school register containing information relating to all pupils, which should include their sex. They are required to provide details of pupil gender to Local Authorities, or to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, where requested.