Written Evidence Mar. 25 2025
Inquiry: Female entrepreneurshipFound: Access to Finance: Women entrepreneurs often struggle to secure funding due to gender bias in investment
Written Evidence Mar. 25 2025
Inquiry: Female entrepreneurshipFound: Childcare Challenges Access to affordable and flexible childcare remains one of the most significant
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure families from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to high quality childcare provision.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life. Low-income families, children with education, health and care plans and looked after children are eligible for 15 hours funded early education from age two until they start school. In addition to this, eligible disadvantaged children can get early years pupil premium (EYPP). This additional funding supports the delivery of high quality early education that improves disadvantaged children’s outcomes. In December 2024, the department announced an unprecedented 45% increase to EYPP from 1 April 2025.
Support for disadvantaged children is also reflected when distributing core funding for the entitlements. The early years national funding formulae (EYNFFs) are used to determine the hourly rates to fund individual local authorities for early years entitlements. The EYNFFs target funding to local authorities where it is needed most and each include an additional needs factor that accounts for 10.5% of entitlement funding. This needs factor comprises of an 8% deprivation factor, a 1.5% English as an additional language factor and a 1% Disability Allowance factor. Local authorities are responsible for setting individual provider funding rates in consultation with their providers and schools forum, and fund providers using their own local funding formula, which may include a deprivation supplement.
Local authorities are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their local area. The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency 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. If a parent is unable to secure a place, they should contact their local authority.
The department is also supporting the creation of new places. School-based nurseries are a key part of this government’s opportunity mission, delivering on our Plan for Change by expanding high quality early education across England. We have awarded 300 primary-phase schools £37 million to repurpose spare space for new or expanded nursery provision, opening from September 2025, to support the expansion of childcare entitlements. School-based nurseries are particularly well-placed to support families in disadvantaged areas, with over a quarter of providers in the most deprived areas based in schools. For the school-based nurseries grant, applications for the grant were scored more highly if they clearly evidenced a focus on supporting children from disadvantaged families. This was validated using departmental data relating to established disadvantaged factors.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of enabling parents to be paid their childcare funding using their government tax-free childcare account.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) provides parents with financial support with the aim of allowing parents to work and earn more. It enables parents access funding of up to £2,000 per child for children up to 11 years-old (16 and up to £4,000 if the child is disabled). In addition to this, TFC caters to self-employed parents, and parents that work irregular hours and may be unable to access traditional childcare provisions.
Since its introduction in 2017, take-up of TFC has consistently increased. For the Financial Year 2024-25, approximately 826,000 families used TFC for 1,085,000 children. In March 2025, 580,000 families used TFC for 709,000 children, higher than any previous month since TFC began.
Mentions:
1: Don-Innes, Natalie (SNP - Renfrewshire North and West) We want all families to have access to high-quality and flexible childcare that meets their needs. - Speech Link
2: Rowley, Alex (Lab - Mid Scotland and Fife) To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Funding Council’s college indicative - Speech Link
3: Rennie, Willie (LD - North East Fife) The Government, along with the Scottish Funding Council, needs to think again, because the potential - Speech Link
Asked by: Whitfield, Martin (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and (b) logistical support is currently available to practitioners seeking to upskill through formal early learning and childcare qualifications.
Answered by None
The Scottish Government provides a range of financial and logistical support to early learning and childcare (ELC) practitioners seeking to upskill through formal qualifications.
(a) Financial Support
In 2024-25, the Scottish Government allocated over £8 million to support Skills Development Scotland to deliver Modern Apprenticeships in childcare.
A tuition fee grant of up to £1,820 is available via the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) through the Part-Time Fee Grant (PTFG) for individuals with a personal income of £25,000 or less. This funding supports eligible higher education courses and professional development at SCQF Levels 7–10, delivered by approved providers in Scotland. This funding is available to those working in childcare who are looking to study for a degree or college-based qualification.
The Scottish Government is also providing funding to enable 100 practitioners to study Masters degrees at the Universities of Strathclyde and Aberdeen to support their early years practice.
(b) Logistical Support
Practitioners benefit from a range of logistical support options to help them upskill while continuing to work in ELC. Many training providers offer flexible routes such as part-time, online or modular learning, enabling practitioners to balance study with existing commitments.
Work-based qualifications, including Modern and Technical Apprenticeships, allow staff to gain experience and qualifications on the job. In addition, many ELC employers support professional development by providing study leave, protected learning time and mentoring.
Practitioners can also access resources through the Scottish Social Services Council’s Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) portal, which offers a range of ELC-specific training opportunities and guidance.
Jun. 12 2025
Source Page: I. Updated Universal Credit Guidance 2025 [ update of previous guidance deposited Oct 2024, DEP2024-0673] (210 docs.) II. Letter dated 09/06/2025 from Stephen Timms MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding documents for deposit in the House libraries. Incl. Annex (file list). 7pFound: See Payment of childcare costs.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) childminders, (b) after-school clubs, (c) holiday clubs and schemes and (d) other childcare services are accessible to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities and early years providers, including early years childminders, have duties via the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice, the Equality Act 2010, and the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework to promote equality and inclusion for children with SEND, removing the barriers that prevent children from accessing early education.
In addition, local authorities are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their area for children aged 0 to 14 or up to 18 for children with SEND. The local authority statutory guidance on early education and childcare sets out a clear requirement that local authorities must report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, including for children with SEND, and make this report available and accessible to parents.
The National Wraparound Childcare Programme is helping local authorities discharge this duty with regard to after school clubs, by distributing funding on the basis of anticipated need. Local authorities across England can decide how best to use the funding to set up or expand wraparound childcare in their area to meet the needs of their local community, including children with SEND. Local authorities have been working in partnership with primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers, including childminders. Since the programme began, the government has set clear expectations that all wraparound childcare delivered through the programme should be inclusive and accessible.
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme funding is primarily for school aged children from reception to year 11 (inclusive) who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children, who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. The department encourages local authorities to engage with local and national organisations, including special schools with expertise in working with children with SEND or additional needs. Local authorities are obligated to include the numbers of children with SEND or additional needs who have participated in their programme in their post provision reporting to us.
Apr. 04 2025
Source Page: 16 to 19 education: financial support for studentsFound: The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) closed on 31 March 2025.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to strengthen support for childcare providers in rural areas, particularly those who provide childcare for disabled children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
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 and delivering on our Plan for Change. 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.
In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for early years entitlements, which is a more than 30% increase compared to the 2024/25 financial year, as the department rolls out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.
We 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, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. On top of this, we are providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant, and £25 million through the forthcoming National Insurance Contributions grant for public sector employers in the early years. The Coram Family and Childcare survey highlights the real difference the expanded childcare entitlements are making, with more to come from September, as funding increases from 15 to 30 hours a week of funded childcare.
To support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the Disability Access Fund in 2024/25 has increased by £29, to £910 per year per eligible child and will increase again in 2025/26 to £938 per eligible child per year. Additionally, the department has introduced additional resources for early years educators to support children with SEND, including a free online training module, and SEND assessment guidance and resources.
Local authorities are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their local area who require childcare. This includes children with SEND and children in rural areas. Local authorities are also required to report annually to elected council members 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. If a parent is unable to secure a place, they should reach out to their local authority for assistance.