Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend his proposed 30 free hours of childcare outlined in the Budget 2023 to children aged between 12 and 24 months to households with a collective income over £100,000.

In the Spring Budget 2023 on 15 March, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents and children. This includes the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, where eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.

The government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education by 2027/28, helping working families with their childcare costs. This announcement represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England.

Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds are currently eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week, over 38 weeks a year. From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week, over 38 weeks a year. From September 2024, this will be extended to parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds, over 38 weeks a year. From September 2025, working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will be able to access 30 free hours per week, over 38 weeks a year.

To be eligible for this offer, as with the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum or living wage, and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £8,670 from April but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year are eligible. In a two-parent family, both parents must meet these thresholds, unless one partner receives certain benefits. In a single-parent household, the single parent must meet these income thresholds.

The reforms announced build on our current early education entitlements that the government offers, which includes a universal 15 hour offer for all 3 and 4-year-olds, a 15 hour offer for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds, the existing 30 hours offer for 3 and 4-year-olds, Tax-Free Childcare, and Universal Credit Childcare.

Further information on the support available to parents is available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.