Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the proportion of funding for commercial early years providers that comes from voluntary contributions.

As the entitlements are expanded, it is vitally important that they remain accessible and affordable for families.

Providers can ask parents to pay for consumables. However, in line with a recent High Court judgment, charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place.

The department publishes data on the proportion of income providers get from parent-paid fees, entitlement funding and other income in our annual provider finances report. The most recent report is for 2023 and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673b14b8fc572967fe66a92e/Providers__finances_Evidence_from_the_2023_Survey_of_Childcare_and_Early_Years_Providers.pdf.