Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2018 to Question 132418 on Children: Day Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of children that are not eligible for the 30 hours of tax free childcare as a result of a household income being (a) too high and (b) too low.

30 hours free childcare is available to working parents of three and four year olds and eligibility is based on parental income.

A three or four year old is eligible for 30 hours free childcare if both their parents, or the sole parent in a lone parent family, expects to earn a weekly minimum equivalent to working 16 hours at national minimum or living wage and under £100,000 a year.

We estimate that 58% of three and four year olds are not eligible for 30 hours because either only one of their parents is employed or because their parent(s) do not meet the required minimum income threshold.

We estimate that less than 1% of three and four year olds are not eligible, even though both parents are employed and meet the required minimum threshold, because at least one of their parents expects to earn £100,000 or more per year.