Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of income are parents of children aged (a) under 5 and (b) 5-11 spending each year on childcare including holiday clubs on average in the Stroud constituency.

The department does not hold the data requested. However, the most recent parents survey of childcare and early years provides some data on parental spend on childcare. For example, the survey shows the average cost of childcare per week for parents of 0-14-year-olds by region. It also shows the cost by day for school-aged children during holiday periods. This data is not available at local authority/constituency level specified in the question. The survey can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021.

The department knows that childcare is a key concern for parents and that is why we are committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We continue to look at ways to make childcare more affordable and to encourage families to use government-funded support they are entitled to.

The department has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on early education entitlements and continue to support families with the cost of childcare through Tax Free Childcare and Universal Credit.

The department is investing over £200 million a year in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides enriching activities and healthy meals for disadvantaged children during school holidays.

We have also announced a new £1.2 million campaign via the childcare choices website to ensure every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for. The website can be found here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.