Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of childcare funding policies for parents in higher education.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Students attending full-time undergraduate courses and PGCE courses with child dependants qualify for a partially means-tested loan for living costs, a means-tested Childcare Grant, payable towards childcare costs for registered or approved childcare, and a means-tested Parents’ Learning Allowance to help with additional study costs.

The government announced in a Written Statement on 20 January 2025 that maximum loans and grants for living costs will increase by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year. This Written Statement can be accessed at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-%2001-20/hcws372.

A 3.1% increase to loans and grants for living costs in 2025/26 is in line with forecast inflation based on the Retail Price Index Excluding Mortgage Interest (RPIX) inflation index.

Maximum loans for living costs for 2025/26 will be £13,762 for students living away from home and studying in London, £10,544, for students living away from home and studying outside London and £8,877 for students living in the parental home.

Higher rates of loan for living costs are available for students who are eligible for benefits, such as lone parents.

The amount of Childcare Grant payable in 2025/26 will be based on 85% of actual childcare costs, subject to a maximum grant of £199.62 per week for one child only or £342.24 per week for two or more children. The maximum amount of Parents’ Learning Allowance payable in 2025/26 will be £2,024.

The government published an Equality Impact Assessment of changes to fees and student support for the 2025/26 academic year on 20 January 2025. This is accessible at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/263/impacts/2025/41.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the number of nurseries that have withdrawn from the childcare funding scheme citing cost pressures on early years provision.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.

Local authorities are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their local area who require childcare. This includes children with special educational needs and disabilities and children in rural areas. Local authorities are also required to report annually to councillors on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare and to make this report available and accessible to parents.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract. At present, no local authorities are reporting they are unable to meet their sufficiency duty.

In the 2025/26 financial year alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. The department has also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, raising it to the equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.

On top of this, the department is providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector in providing the additional places and workforce needed by September 2025.

Found: Childcare funding also responds to changing need on a lagged, annual basis.

Found: increase of £86.2m for updated recruitment from the impact of M2UC and UCR along with additional Childcare funding

Found: The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill of 2018 legislated powers to

Found: The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill of 2018 legislated powers to

Found:  Commit to consolidating the different childcare funding streams into a single funding stream, and

Found: • Commission a review of childcare funding in Wales with a par�cular focus on ensuring that childcare

Found: R1(b) - Commit to consolidating the different childcare funding streams into a single funding stream

Found: .................................................................................... 30 The Childcare Funding

Found: the sector can pay people a fair wage, the only other workable solution is to re-position childcare funding

Found: .................................................................................... 30 The Childcare Funding

Found: concerns of the Children’s Commissioner about the Children’s Rights Impact Assessment for the Childcare Funding

Found: concerns of the Children’s Commissioner about the Children’s Rights Impact Assessment for the Childcare Funding

Found: The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill of 2018 legislated powers to

Found: The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill The Childcare Funding (Wales) Bill of 2018 legislated powers to

Found: The very complex nature of childcare funding is a significant barrier to inclusive childcare provision

Found: The WWBG/WEN was particularly concerned by cuts to childcare funding and said there is a “dire need