Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure childcare is (a) accessible and (b) affordable.

The department is committed to improving the availability and affordability of childcare which is why we have spent more than £20 billion over the last five years to support families with the cost of childcare. This means that thousands of parents are benefitting from government childcare support.

In the 2021 Spending Review, the department announced additional funding of £160 million in financial years 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 202425, compared to the 2021/22. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers, reflecting cost pressures and changes in the number of eligible children anticipated at the time of the review.

For 2023/24, the department will invest an additional £20 million into early years funding, on top of the additional £180 million for 2023/24. Taken together, this will help support providers at a national level with the additional National Living Wage costs associated with delivering the free childcare entitlements in 2023.

In July, the department announced measures to reduce the costs and barriers facing providers and ensure families can access government support to save them money on their childcare bills.

This included the launch of a new £1.2 million communications campaign via the childcare choices website to ensure every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for. This is accessible here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The department continues to work across government, looking at ways to make childcare more affordable and accessible to ensure that families benefit from the government-funded support they are entitled to.