Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of families unable to access 30 hours free childcare allowance as their chosen registered childminder is a relative.

Childminders cannot receive entitlement funding for related children because legislation excludes care by a relative from the definition of ‘childcare’.

Although parents cannot claim their entitlements through related childminders, they can find details of providers that offer the entitlement in the local area through local authorities’ family information services.