Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the average cost of a full time nursery place for a two year old in Houghton and Sunderland South constituency.

The department does not collect the requested information. However, the department does collect information on childcare and early years provision through the Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers. This covers group-based providers, school-based providers, and childminders in a representative overview of childcare and early years provision in England. This data is collected at a local authority, rather than constituency, level. According to the 2022 Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers, the mean hourly fee charged for a 2-year-old by childcare providers in the Sunderland local authority area was estimated to be £4.68 per hour. Using this figure, the department could estimate that for a 2-year-old child attending a setting in the Sunderland local authority area for 30 hours a week, this would be £140.40. From September, the department is investing an additional £204 million to increase the average rates paid to childcare and early years providers for 2-year-olds to £7.95 per hour from £6.

Disadvantaged children, including those with Education, Health and Care plans and looked after children, can qualify for 15 hours free early education for 2-year-olds, a year before all children become eligible for 15 hours at ages 3 and 4. Eligible working parents of children aged nine months to two years will qualify for 30 free hours from September 2025. By 2027/28, the government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping families with pre-school children with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.