Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure wraparound childcare is available for new parents who wish to return to work.

Ensuring parents can continue to access childcare remains a priority for the government. The department has issued guidance to childcare providers to ensure they can continue to operate whilst reducing transmission of COVID-19, alongside accompanying guidance for parents and carers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

The government announced on 21 December 2021 that a further £102 million would be made available for local authorities to support businesses severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. This grant gives local authorities discretionary funding to support any sector within their area that requires it and this may include wraparound childcare providers.

Parents have the ‘right to request’ wraparound childcare and the department has published guidance for schools on how to respond to such requests: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778997/Rights_to_request_guidance-2019.pdf. Schools should not refuse a request without a reasonable justification.

All local authorities also have a legal duty to ensure there are sufficient childcare places, so far as is reasonably practicable, for working parents in their area with children aged 0-14, or up to 18 for disabled children. Parents may contact their local Family Information Service who can give advice on childcare providers in their area.

New parents may benefit from our Tax-Free Childcare scheme which provides working parents with financial support with their childcare costs. For every £8 a parent or carer deposits into their account, they will receive a £2 top-up, up to the value of £500 every three months, or £1,000 if their child is disabled. Tax-Free Childcare is available for children aged 0-11, or 0-16 if their child is disabled, and can be used for a range of childcare providers, such as childminders, nurseries, and play schemes. It can be also used in conjunction with 30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds and can be used to help pay for additional hours a parent wants to take up.

We would strongly advise all new parents to find out what government childcare support may be available to them by visiting the government’s Childcare Choices website: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.