Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the OBR's report entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in November 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook is a detailed document, and plays a key role in our robust and transparent fiscal framework.
The report shows that growth is up this year, that living standards are up over the Parliament, and that we are getting borrowing and debt down.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the role of early years settings is in helping to identify and support the needs of SEND children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government recognises the important role the early years sector plays in early intervention to ensure the right support is put in place for children as soon as possible
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow. It stipulates that providers must have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and that all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard for the SEND code of practice.
On 7 July, we published our commitment to giving every child the best start in life. This means a stronger focus on early identification, inclusive access to early years education, and tailored family support.
We have already invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, as well as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, supporting children in the early years with their speech and language.
We are looking at wider SEND reforms and interventions to give children and young people the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that early years educators can have long, fulfilling and fairly-paid careers in the early years sector.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver our Plan for Change. The Best Start in Life strategy sets out our plans to work with the early years sector and local authorities to tackle challenges in recruitment and retention and make early years a career people are proud to start and rewarding to pursue.
This includes investing in opportunities to become an early years teacher, by aiming to more than double the number of funded places on early years initial teacher training by 2028. It also sets out financial support for employers delivering the new degree apprenticeship route, and financial incentives for early years teachers working in disadvantaged areas. Plans to co-design a new professional register are designed to raise the value of the profession and give all early educators the recognition they deserve.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with children’s nursery operators on (a) the viability of that sector and (b) the adequacy of the level of funding for childcare provided by the Government.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In 2025/26 alone, the government expects to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27, and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. We have also provided further funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant.
At the 2025 Spending Review, the government announced it will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents, boosting children’s life chances and work choices for their parents. We will also spend over £400 million over the next four years to deliver school-based nurseries across England.
The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of free childcare places in Bournemouth.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In 2025/26 alone, the government expects to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27, and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. We have also provided further funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant.
At the 2025 Spending Review, the government announced it will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents, boosting children’s life chances and work choices for their parents. We will also spend over £400 million over the next four years to deliver school-based nurseries across England.
The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of (a) part-time and (b) flexible childcare places.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In 2025/26 alone, the government expects to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27, and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. We have also provided further funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant.
At the 2025 Spending Review, the government announced it will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents, boosting children’s life chances and work choices for their parents. We will also spend over £400 million over the next four years to deliver school-based nurseries across England.
The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she intends to increase the level of free childcare funding for each child.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
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. 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 financial year 2025/26 alone, the government expects to spend over £8 billion on the early years entitlements, and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%.
Next year, in financial year 2026/27, funding for the early years entitlements is expected to increase to over £9 billion. This funding reflects a full year of eligible working parents being able to access 30 hours of childcare from 9 months until their children start school, and an expected increase in funding rates. Local authority hourly funding rates for 2026/27 will be confirmed in the usual way before the end of this year.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage people to obtain early years qualifications.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Our Best Start in Life strategy sets out how we are improving the quality of early education by investing in training and qualifications, increasing understanding of high-quality practice and providing more access to proven, evidence-based early years programmes. This includes introducing a faster assessment only route for experienced staff to achieve Level 3 recognition, similar to those in other education professions.
The department is also transforming apprenticeships into a new growth and skills offer, with shorter, more flexible training options. Recent reforms to the English and maths requirements will allow many thousands more apprentices to qualify each year.
We are also investing in opportunities to become an early years teacher, aiming to more than double the number of funded places on early years initial teacher training by 2028, providing financial support for employers delivering the new degree apprenticeship route, and offering financial incentives for early years teachers working in disadvantaged areas.
Finally, we continue to help more people discover rewarding early years careers through our ‘Do something BIG’ national recruitment campaign.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government’s new school-based nurseries will be operated by the public or private sector.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
High quality early years is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. School-based nurseries are one part of our diverse and vibrant early years landscape, and this government is boosting availability and access to early years places through the School-based nursery programme.
The programme’s new and expanded nurseries are being delivered both by schools and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers. 27 of the 300 schools awarded funding in phase 1 of the School-based nurseries programme partnered with a PVI provider.
Phase 2 of the programme will continue to encourage these partnerships. Schools have until 11 December to apply for up to £150,000 of capital funding.
The department will continue working closely with the early years sector to scale the programme effectively, ensuring new provision meets the needs of children, parents and schools, and works within the local market.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking with the financial sector to support the transition to net zero.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK’s sustainable finance sector is world leading, and the Government is actively mobilising capital to support the transition and improve our energy independence.
Since July 2024, over £50 billion of private investment has been announced in clean energy industries and this summer the Government set out our vision for the UK’s sustainable finance regulatory framework in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.