Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of time it takes for the appeals process to be completed when persons have had their applications for thirty hours of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds denied.

The Childcare Service, which delivers eligibility checking for 30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4-year-old children of working parents, is designed to give quick decisions and quick access to reviews when parents disagree with decisions. Cases are routinely monitored. Only a tiny fraction of parents go on to appeal to an independent tribunal after the review process concludes, only 1% last year.