Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who were eligible for the 30 funded hours of childcare this term, but are not eligible in the January term because their parents (a) now exceed the earnings limit and (b) now earn below the minimum amount.

I am sorry, but the specific information that has been requested is not available.

We expect that a small proportion of parents will drop out of eligibility for 30 hours’ free childcare due to a change in their circumstances. Where this situation occurs, we have introduced a grace period which will enable parents to retain their childcare place for a short period if they have become ineligible for 30 hours. This is in order to avoid disruption for the child, enable parents to make alternative arrangements as a result of a loss of eligibility and allow providers and local authorities greater certainty when managing their childcare places.

Further information about the grace period can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-la-and-early-years-provider-guide.