Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing parents who do not wish to use the 30 hours of free childcare with grants to pay for relatives and friends to look after their children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
As set out in the Childcare Act 2006, the definition of ‘childcare’ excludes care provided for a child by a parent or other relative. The government has no current plans to extend the definition of childcare to include relatives. Friends or acquaintances known to the parent can receive government funding, but they must be registered childcare providers.
Parents who are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) or Universal Credit (UC) Childcare can use it to pay for any childcare provision registered with Ofsted or a childminder agency. If a relative registers as a childminder and cares for a related child outside the child’s own home, or registers as a nanny and cares for a related child inside the child's own home, that childminder or nanny can qualify for TFC or UC.
As part of the government’s biggest ever expansion to childcare provision, low-income families will be able to access increased childcare support worth a total of £900 million from 28 June 2023.
Later this month, the Department for Work and Pensions will raise the amount that parents in Great Britain can claim back monthly for their childcare costs on Universal Credit, up to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children. This is a rise of 47% from the previous limits of £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children.
At the same time, the government will help eligible parents to cover the costs of the first month of childcare when they enter work or significantly increase their hours, removing one of the most significant barriers to parents working and helping to grow the economy.
Those parents will also receive up to 85% of their childcare costs back before their next month’s bills are due. This means they should have money to pay for childcare one month in advance going forward.
The government is also supporting families by providing additional cost of living payments of up to £900 for households on eligible means-tested benefits. Over 6 million people across the UK on eligible ‘extra-costs’ disability benefits will receive a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment during summer 2023/24, to help with the additional costs they face.
UC improves incentives for parents to enter work. Claimants with children are entitled to a work allowance which is an amount they can earn before their benefit is affected. Once earnings are above their work allowance, a single taper is applied. This ensures their UC reduces gradually as their earnings increase.
The government has consistently said that the best way to support people’s living standards is through good work, better skills and higher wages. To that end, the UC taper rate was reduced from 24 November 2021 from 63% to 55%, meaning that claimants can keep more of their earnings. At the same time, we also increased the work allowance by £500 a year, in addition to the normal benefits uprating.
State Pensions, benefits, and statutory payments have been increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2022, which was 10.1%. These increases took effect from April 2023.
The government is committed to protecting vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. The government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt.
Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving stay at home parents the same level of funding as that provided to working parents of all children over the age of nine months to access 30 hours of free childcare.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
As set out in the Childcare Act 2006, the definition of ‘childcare’ excludes care provided for a child by a parent or other relative. The government has no current plans to extend the definition of childcare to include relatives. Friends or acquaintances known to the parent can receive government funding, but they must be registered childcare providers.
As part of the government’s biggest ever expansion to childcare provision, low-income families will be able to access increased childcare support worth a total of £900 million from 28 June 2023.
Later this month, the Department for Work and Pensions will raise the amount that parents in Great Britain can claim back monthly for their childcare costs on Universal Credit, up to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children. This is a rise of 47% from the previous limits of £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children.
At the same time, the government will help eligible parents to cover the costs of the first month of childcare when they enter work or significantly increase their hours, removing one of the most significant barriers to parents working and helping to grow the economy.
Those parents will also receive up to 85% of their childcare costs back before their next month’s bills are due. This means they should have money to pay for childcare one month in advance going forward.
The government is also supporting families by providing additional cost of living payments of up to £900 for households on eligible means-tested benefits. Over 6 million people across the UK on eligible ‘extra-costs’ disability benefits will receive a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment during summer 2023/24, to help with the additional costs they face.
Universal Credit (UC) improves incentives for parents to enter work. Claimants with children are entitled to a work allowance which is an amount they can earn before their benefit is affected. Once earnings are above their work allowance, a single taper is applied. This ensures their UC reduces gradually as their earnings increase.
The government has consistently said that the best way to support people’s living standards is through good work, better skills and higher wages. To that end, the UC taper rate was reduced from 24 November 2021 from 63% to 55%, meaning that claimants can keep more of their earnings. At the same time, we also increased the work allowance by £500 a year, in addition to the normal benefits uprating.
State Pensions, benefits, and statutory payments have been increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2022, which was 10.1%. These increases took effect from April 2023.
The government is committed to protecting vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. The government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will bring forward plans to provide immediate financial support to help families meet childcare costs.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, this government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping families with pre-school children with their childcare costs.
This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever and so it is right that we make sure the workforce and the sector are ready for the changes that are coming. The department anticipates rolling out the expansion to entitlements as follows: 15 hours for eligible working parents of 2-year-olds from April 2024, 15 hours for eligible working parents of children aged 9 months to 24 months from September 2024, and a full 30 hours for eligible working parents of children aged 9 months to two years from September 2025. The department is phasing implementation in this way to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity. Full details can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-unveils-a-budget-for-growth.
In July 2022, the department announced measures to increase take-up of childcare support to ensure that families can access government support to save them money on their childcare bills. This included our £1.2 million Childcare Choices communications campaign to ensure every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for.
This department has doubled the entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds to 30 hours and introduced 15 free hours a week for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. On top of this, working parents on Universal Credit may be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs every month.
Parents who sign up to Tax Free Childcare can get a government contribution of £2 for every £8 they deposit into an online childcare account. This is worth up to £2,000 off the cost of their childcare every year, or up to £4,000 if their child is disabled.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend his proposed 30 free hours of childcare outlined in the Budget 2023 to children aged between 12 and 24 months to households with a collective income over £100,000.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In the Spring Budget 2023 on 15 March, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents and children. This includes the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, where eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.
The government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education by 2027/28, helping working families with their childcare costs. This announcement represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England.
Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds are currently eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week, over 38 weeks a year. From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week, over 38 weeks a year. From September 2024, this will be extended to parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds, over 38 weeks a year. From September 2025, working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will be able to access 30 free hours per week, over 38 weeks a year.
To be eligible for this offer, as with the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum or living wage, and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £8,670 from April but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year are eligible. In a two-parent family, both parents must meet these thresholds, unless one partner receives certain benefits. In a single-parent household, the single parent must meet these income thresholds.
The reforms announced build on our current early education entitlements that the government offers, which includes a universal 15 hour offer for all 3 and 4-year-olds, a 15 hour offer for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds, the existing 30 hours offer for 3 and 4-year-olds, Tax-Free Childcare, and Universal Credit Childcare.
Further information on the support available to parents is available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of Government support for single parent families.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. As seen in the measures announced by the Chancellor in the Spring Statement, the Government is focused on ensuring more people are supported into the workforce so that they can seize the opportunities and positive benefits of work, including changes to the Universal Credit childcare element which will provide generous additional financial support to parents moving into work and/or increasing their working hours. From April, State Pensions and benefits including Universal Credit will increase by 10.1% in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2022. The benefit cap levels will also be increased from April by 10.1%, ensuring capped households will see an increase in their benefit following Up-rating.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost-of-living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's report Stable Homes, Built on Love: Implementation Strategy and Consultation published February 2023, what steps her Department plans to take to deliver Family Help services in the 12 identified Pathfinder areas.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government has pledged £45 million to deliver the Families First for Children Pathfinders in up to 12 local areas over the next two years. The department will test the following elements of Family Help services within the identified Pathfinder areas:
The department will provide local areas with support and funding to deliver the reforms. We will co-design these new services by working with children and families, the local authority, schools, police, health and other key partners within the area, including the third sector. All pathfinder areas will test reforms across Family Help, child protection and kinship care.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided to families with earnings (a) below and (b) above £100,000 for childcare in the last 12 months.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government provides a range of early years entitlements for 2, 3 and 4-year-old children in England.
2-year-old children from disadvantaged families, with working parents on low incomes, and in receipt of certain benefits (earning less than £15,400 and in receipt of Universal Credit or earning less than £16,190 and receiving tax credits) are entitled to 15 hours of childcare per week.
The universal entitlement of 15 hours per week of free early education is available for all 3- and 4-year-olds in England and has no earnings threshold.
An additional 15 hours per week entitlement, also known as 30 hours free childcare, is available for 3 and 4-year-old children of working parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at National Minimum or Living Wage (currently just over £152 per week / £7,900 per year), and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. In a two-parent family, both parents must meet the above thresholds, unless one partner receives certain benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance. In a single-parent household the single parent must meet the threshold.
The early years pupil premium is available for eligible 3 and 4-year-old children in receipt of the universal 15 hours entitlement, from disadvantaged families on certain benefits or low incomes. 3 and 4-year-old children receiving the universal 15 hours and children’s disability living allowance may be eligible for the disability access fund.
The following table shows government spending on childcare entitlements for the 2022/23 financial year:
2-year-old entitlement: | £433,421,139 |
3-4-year-old universal entitlement: | £2,288,923,149 |
3-4-year-old additional entitlement for children of working parents: | £894,104,384 |
Early years Pupil Premium: | £39,419,076 |
Disability Access Fund: | £18,387,200 |
Total* | £3,674,254,948 |
*As published in the initial early years funding allocations of the dedicated schools grant, which can be accessed here: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2022-to-2023. Final allocations for the financial year 2022/23 will be published in July 2023.
3 and 4-year-old children of parents each earning in excess of £100,000 per year may be eligible for the universal 15 hours entitlement and for Disability Access Fund. The department does not hold data on what proportion of the spend on those entitlements is paid in relation to those children.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children subject to No Recourse to Public Funds conditions are in receipt of 15 hours a week of free early education available to disadvantaged three and four year-olds, but would be eligible for the 30 hour entitlement if not subject to NRPF.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All parents are eligible to claim up to 570 hours of free early education per year, which is usually taken as 15 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year. This is available to all three and four-year olds, regardless of family circumstances, including those whose families have no recourse to public funds (NRPF).
Working parents of three and four-year-olds may also be eligible for an additional 15 hours of free childcare, also known as 30 hours free childcare, subject to both minimum and maximum earnings thresholds. Parents must earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum/living wage, currently just over £7,900 per year, and their adjusted net income must be under £100,000.
In a two-parent family both parents must meet these thresholds, unless one partner receives certain benefits (Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance). In a single-parent household the single parent must meet the threshold. Parents with NRPF are not eligible for this entitlement.
The department does not hold data on the number of children whose parents have NRPF who are currently taking up the universal 15 hour early education entitlement. This means it is not possible to ascertain how many would be eligible for the extended 30 hour entitlement were they not subject to NRPF.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of (a) male and (b) female prisoners who have children.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
An MoJ study estimated that there were approximately 200,000 children in England & Wales who had a parent in prison at some point during the year 2009. Looking at the number of children with a parent in prison at a single point in time, approximately 90,000 children had a parent in prison at the end of June 2009. No recent annual estimate has been made of the number of children affected by the imprisonment of a parent or main caregiver.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper includes a commitment to improve the quality of the data collected and to improve the support provided. We are investigating opportunities for data sharing between Government organisations, to facilitate targeted support for offenders and their families.
Changes have been made to the Basic Custody Screening Tool to enable us to collect data on entry to prison about how many primary carers are in custody and how many children under the age of 18 are affected by their imprisonment. As this data is self-reported, we will monitor the quality of the data over the next year and make a decision as to what format the data will be published.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to support low-income single parent families to find housing in cases where a rent guarantor cannot be found.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Government wants everyone to have access to secure, safe and affordable housing. The Government continues to strongly encourage private rented sector landlords and agents to assess the suitability of potential and existing tenants on an individual basis.
Landlords and letting agents are free to carry out any referencing checks within the law before accepting a new tenant, this may include income checks or setting a requirement for a guarantor, depending upon the decision of the individual landlord.
Significant support remains in place through the welfare system, including LHA rates maintained at their increased cash level for 2021/22 and 2022/23. For those who need it most, support is available through Discretionary Housing Payments and the £500 million Household Support Fund, of which £421 million will go to help vulnerable people in England.