Written Evidence May. 20 2025
Inquiry: Mission GovernmentFound: Written evidence from the Early Education and Childcare Coalition (MIG 14) Public Administration and
Mentions:
1: Munira Wilson (LD - Twickenham) Finally, will she look again at the damaging guidance issued by her Department on charging and funding - Speech Link
2: Bridget Phillipson (Lab - Houghton and Sunderland South) It is important for us to ensure that all families can take up childcare and early years provision, and - Speech Link
3: Bridget Phillipson (Lab - Houghton and Sunderland South) It is important for us to ensure that all families can take up childcare and early years provision, and - Speech Link
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the increase to (a) employer National Insurance contributions and (b) the national living wage on trends in the level of fees paid by parents with children in early education and childcare.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is the department’s ambition that parents have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and childcare. This government has had to take some tough decisions to get our public finances back on track, but this government has increased investment in the early years to drive forward progress towards our plan for change target of a record number of children starting school ready to learn.
In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare. This is an increase of more than 30% compared to the 2024/25 financial year.
This increase ensures funding for the entitlements, reflects forecasts of average earnings and inflation next year, and also reflects the National Living Wage announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.
The department 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.
We are additionally providing £25 million through the forthcoming National Insurance contributions grant for public sector employers in the early years.
From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months. So far, over 320,000 additional parents are now accessing a place. Going further, from September 2025, eligible working parents will be able to access 30 hours of early education and childcare a week.
Parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit childcare.
The department also wants to ensure that parents are aware of and accessing all government funded childcare support they are eligible for. The department is raising awareness of the government-funded childcare support available via the Childcare Choices campaign to boost children’s life chances and parents’ work choices.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle childcare deserts in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent.
In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for early years entitlements, a more than 30% increase compared to the 2024/25 financial year, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare from September this year. To support the sector during this period of expansion, the government is providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant. 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, providers will receive £25 million through the forthcoming National Insurance Contributions grant for public sector employers in the early years.
The government’s plan to deliver 3,000 school-based nurseries and will help deliver on our commitment to ensure families right across the country have access to high quality childcare and early education. Funding will be allocated to the first wave of nursery projects in spring 2025 to support delivery for the first cohort of places from September. We know that families in some areas are struggling to find childcare places which meet their needs, so we will be working with schools and local childcare providers to deliver much-needed places across all our communities.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ’Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are 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 local authorities in England about the sufficiency of childcare and any issues being faced. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract. We do not currently have any reports of sufficiency issues in any local authority.
Found: The 2021-26 Programme for Government commits the Welsh Government to funding “childcare for more families
Found: The 2021-26 Programme for Government commits the Welsh Government to funding “childcare for more families
Asked by: Smyth, Colin (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provides to Scottish Borders council to reflect any additional costs directly associated with providing nursery education in a rural setting.
Answered by Robison, Shona - Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
The Local Government finance funding formula provides a complex but objective assessment of need and uses the most up to date information for the full range of indicators, including factors such as rurality, population, road length and deprivation. Rurality is accounted for within the Local Government finance settlement, both in relation to Early Learning and Childcare and school funding. In Early Learning and Childcare this relates to support being distributed in relation to the number of pupils living in rural areas.
The vast majority of funding allocated to councils is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on Education, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
The annual Funding of Local Government publication provides an overview of the process of funding council in Scotland, while the Local Government Allocation Statistics (Green Book) publication sets out in more detail the date, methodology and calculations underlying the distribution of the funding between councils. https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/#thefundingoflocalgovernmentinscotland.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by Coram Family and Childcare’s annual survey 2024 that 16 per cent of rural families report sufficient access to childcare, compared to 30 per cent last year.
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the publication of Coram Family and Childcare’s annual survey 2024, what steps they plan to take to ensure accessibility and affordability of rural childcare.
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.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide affordable childcare to parents in (a) work and (b) further education.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is the department’s ambition that parents have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and childcare.
Next year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.
From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months old. So far, over 320,000 additional parents are now accessing a place.
The department is expanding the childcare entitlements so that from September 2025, eligible working parents can access 30 hours of early education and childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns nine months old until they start school.
As we grow the childcare system, it is important it remains fair and accessible to all parents. We have taken action to protect parents from reported instances of very high additional charges or ‘top-up fees’ on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible and affordable for families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds where it makes the biggest difference. We have updated the statutory guidance on government-funded entitlements that relates to additional charges, helping local authorities ensure there is clarity and consistency for parents and providers.
Parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare.
The department wants to ensure that parents are aware of and accessing all government funded childcare support they are eligible for. The department is raising awareness of the government funded childcare support available via the Childcare Choices website to stimulate increased take-up by eligible families.
Students who are parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to all three and four year-olds, regardless of family circumstances. Students who work in addition to studying are eligible for the working parent entitlement if they meet the income requirements. If they meet the eligibility criteria, students can apply for the Childcare Grant and Parental Learning Allowance.
Additionally, the Care to Learn scheme provides funding for childcare to help young parents, defined as those aged under 20, continue in education after the birth of a child. The scheme provides funding for childcare while the young parent is engaged in a study programme and is not able to provide care for their child. It can also help the young parent with any additional travel costs involved in taking the child to the childcare provider.