Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but mistakenly do not apply for an eligibility code on such families' (a) financial situation and (b) ability to work.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents who want it have access to high-quality childcare to support them financially and to enable them to work, or work more hours. We have invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including on the cross government website, Childcare Choices (www.childcarechoices.gov.uk), which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place.
Parents who are eligible for 30 hours but do not apply for any reason are eligible for the universal 15 hour per week early education entitlement. They can also take advantage of Tax-Free Childcare which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people who were eligible for 30 hours of free childcare in one term did not apply for an eligibility code for the next term.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The specific data requested is not available.
To access 30 hours free childcare for their child a parent must apply via the Childcare Service and receive an eligibility code. Once they have received this code they are required to reconfirm their circumstances every three months but they do not need to apply for a new code each term.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) financial situation and (b) ability to work of families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare of not applying for an eligibility code for that childcare.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents who want it have access to high-quality childcare to support them financially and to enable them to work, or work more hours. We do not expect all parents who are eligible for the 30 hours offer to take up a place for their child - parents may choose to use other childcare arrangements, for example, family members.
Parents who are eligible for 30 hours but do not apply are eligible for the universal 15 hour per week early education entitlement. They can also take advantage of Tax-Free Childcare which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department has made available for families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but mistakenly do not apply for an eligibility code.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents have access to high-quality affordable childcare. The termly deadline for the 30 hours offer has been made clear to local authorities, providers and parents, and the department expects parents to adhere to these deadlines to ensure they are able to access a 30 hours place for their child.
The government has invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including a cross government website, Childcare Choices, which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. The department recognises that some applications may be delayed in the childcare service, that is why we have put in place a 14-day discretionary period for those parents who applied in time but received a code after the deadline, through no fault of their own.
Parents who are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but miss the termly deadline will continue to remain eligible for the universal 15 hour per week early education entitlement before they can access a 30 hours place the following term. They can also take advantage of Tax-Free Childcare which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing local authorities with a discretionary fund to support families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but mistakenly do not apply for an eligibility code.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents have access to high-quality affordable childcare. The termly deadline for the 30 hours offer has been made clear to local authorities, providers and parents, and the department expects parents to adhere to these deadlines in order to ensure they are able to access a 30 hours place for their child.
The government has invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including a cross government website, Childcare Choices, which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. The department recognises that some applications may be delayed in the Childcare Service and we have put in place a 14 day discretionary period for those parents who applied in time but received a code after the deadline, through no fault of their own.
During the first year of delivery, over 379,000 codes were successfully generated by parents applying through the HM Revenue and Customs Childcare Service, with around 340,000 places being taken up by working parents across the country, taking huge pressures off family lives and budgets.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have applied for an eligibility code for 30 hours of free childcare after the deadline in each of the terms to date.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
During the first year of delivery, over 379,000 eligibility codes were successfully generated by parents applying through HM Revenue and Customs Childcare Service.
This breaks down across each of the terms as follows:
We publish termly management information releases showing the number of codes generated each term. The full publication, which shows local authority and regional level breakdowns, is available here:
The government has invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including a cross government website, Childcare Choices, which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place – www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. The department recognises that some applications may be delayed in the Childcare Service, that is why we have put in place a 14 day discretionary period for those parents who applied in time but received a code after the deadline, through no fault of their own.
Although the department holds data on the number of eligibility codes and when they were issued, we are unable to determine in which term a parent intends to take up a place, as this is dependent on circumstances and choices of the individual parent.