Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average hourly funding rate provided to local authorities for the delivery of free nursery places in England was in each year since 2018.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.
In 2025/26 alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. On top of this, we are providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the Early Years Expansion Grant.
To set early years funding rates, we uplift the national average rate from the previous year taking into account cost pressures facing the sector, including forecasts of average earnings and inflation, and the National Living Wage. We use the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF) to distribute the early years entitlements budget to local authorities. The EYNFF includes a base rate for each child, which is the same minimum funding for every child no matter where they live or whether they have additional needs. This rate is based on the core costs of childcare provision and has been informed by the cost of childcare review.
To make sure we can account for the differences in costs across the country, such as on staffing and premises costs, we also apply an area cost adjustment for each area. This approach only increases funding, it never reduces the base rate or additional needs funding.
The average hourly funding rate provided for 3 and 4-year-olds since 2018 is as follows:
Year | 3 and 4-year-old combined rate |
2017/18 | £4.76 |
2018/19 | £4.75 |
2019/20 | £4.75 |
2020/21 | £4.83 |
2021/22 | £4.88 |
2022/23 | £5.04 |
2023/24 (April – August) | £5.28 |
2023/24 (September – March) | £5.62 |
2024/25 | £5.88 |
2025/26 | £6.12 |
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many nursery providers have closed in England in each year since 2018; and what data her Department holds on the reasons for those closures.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.
Ofsted publishes data on the numbers of all types of providers joining and leaving the sector each year. Some caution is required in using the numbers because, for example, a nursery may resign one registration and immediately register new provision. Please also note that this data was released under the previous government:
| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Childcare providers leaving the sector | -10,900 | -10,600 | -8,270 | -11,300 | -11,100 | -9,650 | -7,520 |
Childcare providers joining the sector | 9,140 | 7,870 | 7,400 | 6,990 | 5,690 | 6,330 | 6,490 |
Net change | -1,760 | -2,730 | -870 | -4,310 | -5,410 | -3,320 | -1,030 |
Note that from 2019/20, the numbers of annual joiners and leavers are calculated by comparing the beginning of the year to the end. Therefore, the numbers of providers joining and leaving from 2019/20 are not comparable with the figures up to 2018/19.
Ofsted’s most recent publication shows the number of places available increased by 12,100 (1%) between August 2023 and August 2024. The department’s projections on demand for places are not published by region but show that around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10% and 20% to meet demand for September 2025, with the highest uplift being in some of the most disadvantaged areas.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative estimate her Department has made of the (a) number of available nursery places and (b) demand for those places in England by region.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.
Ofsted publishes data on the numbers of all types of providers joining and leaving the sector each year. Some caution is required in using the numbers because, for example, a nursery may resign one registration and immediately register new provision. Please also note that this data was released under the previous government:
| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Childcare providers leaving the sector | -10,900 | -10,600 | -8,270 | -11,300 | -11,100 | -9,650 | -7,520 |
Childcare providers joining the sector | 9,140 | 7,870 | 7,400 | 6,990 | 5,690 | 6,330 | 6,490 |
Net change | -1,760 | -2,730 | -870 | -4,310 | -5,410 | -3,320 | -1,030 |
Note that from 2019/20, the numbers of annual joiners and leavers are calculated by comparing the beginning of the year to the end. Therefore, the numbers of providers joining and leaving from 2019/20 are not comparable with the figures up to 2018/19.
Ofsted’s most recent publication shows the number of places available increased by 12,100 (1%) between August 2023 and August 2024. The department’s projections on demand for places are not published by region but show that around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10% and 20% to meet demand for September 2025, with the highest uplift being in some of the most disadvantaged areas.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new nursery settings have opened in England in each year since 2018.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.
Ofsted publishes data on the numbers of all types of providers joining and leaving the sector each year. Some caution is required in using the numbers because, for example, a nursery may resign one registration and immediately register new provision. Please also note that this data was released under the previous government:
| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Childcare providers leaving the sector | -10,900 | -10,600 | -8,270 | -11,300 | -11,100 | -9,650 | -7,520 |
Childcare providers joining the sector | 9,140 | 7,870 | 7,400 | 6,990 | 5,690 | 6,330 | 6,490 |
Net change | -1,760 | -2,730 | -870 | -4,310 | -5,410 | -3,320 | -1,030 |
Note that from 2019/20, the numbers of annual joiners and leavers are calculated by comparing the beginning of the year to the end. Therefore, the numbers of providers joining and leaving from 2019/20 are not comparable with the figures up to 2018/19.
Ofsted’s most recent publication shows the number of places available increased by 12,100 (1%) between August 2023 and August 2024. The department’s projections on demand for places are not published by region but show that around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10% and 20% to meet demand for September 2025, with the highest uplift being in some of the most disadvantaged areas.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Durham Commission on Creativity and Education.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
In July 2024, this government established the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.
The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. This includes creative subjects such as art, music and drama, as well as skills for life and work.
On 18 March, the Review published a well-evidenced, clear interim report, which sets out its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work.
The final report with recommendations will be published this autumn, along with the government’s response. The Review’s recommendations will inform changes to the current system.
The Durham Commission report published in 2019 set out a number of recommendations, and some were taken forward by the previous government, Arts Council England and others.
This includes the ‘Creativity Collaboratives’ programme established by Arts Council England in 2021 to test innovative practices in teaching for creativity.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children facing adoption breakdown.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer the hon. Member for Leicester South to the answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49523.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Article 7 of UN Resolution A/78/L.67/Rev.1, if she will take steps to introduce observance of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica to the National Curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Schools are free to decide which events to commemorate and what activities to put in place to support pupils’ understanding of significant events and particular months or days dedicated to specific historical events, such as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.
Schools also have the opportunity to mark such events though the curriculum, and to teach about the Srebrenica Genocide, for example, through subjects such as history and citizenship.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's response to the Government's consultation on the structure, distribution and governance of the statutory levy on gambling operators, published on 27 November 2024, what steps her Department is taking to improve education for (a) children and (b) young people on the issue of gambling harms.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Within schools, statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) supports children and young people to make informed decisions in relation to their mental wellbeing and online behaviour. The RSHE statutory guidance is clear that children and young people should be taught about the risks related to gambling including the accumulation of debt, how advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online.
These subjects support children and young people to develop self-control and their ability to self-regulate, as well as providing strategies for doing so.
Young people attending further education (FE) colleges, take part in regular tutor sessions that are devoted to their personal development. This includes financial education and the informed use of money where the dangers of gambling can be discussed. The department continues to work closely with the FE sector to promote and support providers to develop and implement a whole college approach to mental health and wellbeing. This includes establishing Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to provide early intervention for students experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues.