Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes in the cost of childcare during the cost of living crisis on (a) workforce participation rates by and (b) career progression opportunities for women.

Over the last decade we have seen strong growth in the number of women in full-time work, and we are committed to ensuring that every woman is able to reach her full potential in her working life.

In June to August 2022, 19.2% of people (1.7 million people) were economically inactive as a result of looking after family/home and of working age (16 to 64 years). This is part of a long-term declining trend since comparable data started to be collected June to August 1993 when it was 34.6% (3 million people). We continue to carefully monitor these figures.

We are also 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 the government-funded support they are entitled to.

In assessing the impact of its free childcare entitlements, the Department for Education regularly reviews the impact on parents from a range of different research publications. This includes the Families and the Labour Market release (from the Office for National Statistics) and the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents.

As part of the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents, parents are asked about the effect that 30 hours free childcare has on families, including their ability to work. Almost 2 in 5 families using the 30 hours offer said that without the entitlement they would work fewer hours.