Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to improve the (a) accessibility, (b) affordability and (c) quality of childcare.

The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We continue to work across government to look at ways to make childcare more affordable and accessible, and to encourage families to use government-funded support they are entitled to.

In July 2022, the department announced measures to increase take-up of childcare support and reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. We announced a £1.2 million marketing campaign via the Childcare Choices website to ensure that every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for. More information is available here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The department aims to attract more people to childminding, expand the childminder market by reducing the costs and bureaucracy facing providers and encourage the growth of childminder agencies, enabling greater access to this flexible, affordable form of care. These plans aim to give providers more flexibility and autonomy and ensure families can access government support to save them money on their childcare bills. The full announcement is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drive-to-reduce-the-cost-of-childcare-for-parents.

On top of spending over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on our early education entitlements, we are investing up to £180 million of recovery support in the early years sector to improve early language and train early years staff. The department has also reformed the Early Years Foundation Stage to improve outcomes for all at age 5, and reduce paperwork, so practitioners and teachers can spend more time supporting children.