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1490670

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the average annual costs to Government of (a) tax free childcare, (b) the universal 15 free hours entitlement, (c) the extended 30 hours entitlement, (d) the childcare support element of universal credit, (e) employer supported vouchers and (f) other expenditure on childcare.
	tabling member constituency	Harborough
	tabling member printed	Neil O'Brien
	uin	39980
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2022 answer text <p>An estimated 1.3 million families are eligible for Tax Free Childcare (TFC). The TFC Official Statistics show that 384,000 families (30%) used TFC in March 2022. 512,000 families (39%) used TFC at some point in 2021-22. TFC spend for the financial year 2021-22 was £411.3 million.</p><p>In 2022-23, the Department for Education is planning to spend approximately £2.3 million for the universal entitlement for all three and four year olds, and approximately £900 million for the extended entitlement for working parents of three and four year olds (also known as 30 hours free childcare). The Department for Education is also planning to spend approximately £400 million for the 15 hours free early education entitlement for disadvantaged two year olds, approximately £52 million on supplementary funding for Maintained Nursery Schools, approximately £39 million for Early Years Pupil Premium, and approximately £18 million for the Disability Access Fund.</p><p>In January 2022, 92% of all three and four year olds were receiving some form of funded early education (1.2 million children in total), and 384,100 eligible three and four year olds were registered for a 30 hours place in January 2022.</p><p>In the latest month for which data is available (February 2022) 119,900 Universal Credit (UC) households were paid the UC childcare cost element. Overall, 13% of households on UC with all parents earning and children aged between 0 to 16 were paid the childcare element in February 2022. Spending on the Universal Credit childcare element is calculated as part of the total Universal Credit spend and separate figures are not available.</p><p>There were an estimated 470,000 recipients of all forms of Employer Supported childcare in 2021-22. There is no estimate of the eligible population. Spend on all forms of Employer Supported childcare is estimated to be £460 million in 2020-21 and forecast to be £340m in 2021-22. Employer Supported Childcare is closed to new entrants.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Alan Mak grouped question UIN 39981 question first answered 25/07/2022 09:09:28 answering member 4484 label Biography information for Alan Mak
	tabling member	4679 label Biography information for Neil O'Brien

1490671

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the take-up, as a proportion of eligibility, of (a) tax-free childcare, (b) the universal entitlement to 15 hours of free childcare, (c) the extended entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare, (d) the childcare element of universal credit and (e) employer supported childcare vouchers.
	tabling member constituency	Harborough
	tabling member printed	Neil O'Brien
	uin	39981
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2022 answer text <p>An estimated 1.3 million families are eligible for Tax Free Childcare (TFC). The TFC Official Statistics show that 384,000 families (30%) used TFC in March 2022. 512,000 families (39%) used TFC at some point in 2021-22. TFC spend for the financial year 2021-22 was £411.3 million.</p><p>In 2022-23, the Department for Education is planning to spend approximately £2.3 million for the universal entitlement for all three and four year olds, and approximately £900 million for the extended entitlement for working parents of three and four year olds (also known as 30 hours free childcare). The Department for Education is also planning to spend approximately £400 million for the 15 hours free early education entitlement for disadvantaged two year olds, approximately £52 million on supplementary funding for Maintained Nursery Schools, approximately £39 million for Early Years Pupil Premium, and approximately £18 million for the Disability Access Fund.</p><p>In January 2022, 92% of all three and four year olds were receiving some form of funded early education (1.2 million children in total), and 384,100 eligible three and four year olds were registered for a 30 hours place in January 2022.</p><p>In the latest month for which data is available (February 2022) 119,900 Universal Credit (UC) households were paid the UC childcare cost element. Overall, 13% of households on UC with all parents earning and children aged between 0 to 16 were paid the childcare element in February 2022. Spending on the Universal Credit childcare element is calculated as part of the total Universal Credit spend and separate figures are not available.</p><p>There were an estimated 470,000 recipients of all forms of Employer Supported childcare in 2021-22. There is no estimate of the eligible population. Spend on all forms of Employer Supported childcare is estimated to be £460 million in 2020-21 and forecast to be £340m in 2021-22. Employer Supported Childcare is closed to new entrants.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Alan Mak grouped question UIN 39980 question first answered 25/07/2022 09:09:29 answering member 4484 label Biography information for Alan Mak
	tabling member	4679 label Biography information for Neil O'Brien

1491690

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of levels of nursery care costs on economic productivity and output.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	42181
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>The government recognises the importance of families being able to access affordable childcare, including nursery care, in allowing parents to work.</p><p> </p><p>The government offers a range of support for parents to help with childcare costs, including access to early education through the Department for Education’s free hours entitlements, and financial support with childcare through Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) and Universal Credit (UC) childcare offers.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this support, the government remains committed to driving down childcare costs for providers and parents. In July, it announced a series of measures to achieve this including consulting on increasing the number of children that can be looked after by each staff member in early years settings; taking action to grow the childminder market; reforming the way early years funding is distributed in England; and driving a renewed campaign to increase take-up of UC Childcare and TFC.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Alan Mak question first answered 05/09/2022 07:27:52 answering member 4484 label Biography information for Alan Mak
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1491734

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many parents claimed (1) tax free childcare payments, (2) the universal 15 hours free childcare offer for three and four year olds, and (3) the extended childcare offer for three and four year olds, for the last three years.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Eaton
	uin	HL2000
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2022 answer text <p>Tax-Free Childcare is for working parents of children aged 0-11, or 0-16 for disabled children, and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare. In the 2021/22 financial year the government spent £411.3 million on Tax-Free Childcare.</p><p>The numbers of families and children who have used Tax-Free Childcare between 2020 and 2022 are as follows:</p><ul><li>2019-20: 315,040 families used this entitlement for 396,365 children.</li><li>2020-21: 374,135 families used this entitlement for 461,705 children</li><li>2021-22: 512,410 families used this entitlement for 646,940 children</li></ul><p>The universal 15 hours free early education entitlement is available to all three and four-year-olds regardless of parental circumstances. The government spent £2,212,241,262 on the universal entitlement in financial year 2021/22.</p><p>The numbers of children registered for the universal 15-hour entitlement between 2020 and 2022 are captured annually, as follows:</p><ul><li>2020: 621,351 three-year-olds and 650,193 four-year-olds</li><li>2021: 574,845 three-year-olds and 637,146 four-year-olds</li><li>2022: 582,295 three-year-olds and 629,939 four-year-olds</li></ul><p>The extended 15 hours entitlement, also known as 30 hours free childcare, is available for eligible working parents of three and four year olds, on top of the universal 15 hours free early education entitlement. The government spent £837,497,401 on the extended 15 hour entitlement in the 2021/22 financial year.</p><p>The numbers of children registered for the 30 hours free childcare between 2020 and 2022 are as follows:</p><ul><li>2020: 248,399 three-year-olds and 97,305 four-year-olds</li><li>2021: 234,996 three-year-olds and 93,666 four-year-olds</li><li>2022: 249,388 three-year-olds and 98,738 four-year-olds</li></ul><p>The department does not collect data on parents who apply for the entitlements, only children who have registered.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2001 question first answered 04/08/2022 14:54:35 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	4184 label Biography information for Baroness Eaton

1491735

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was spent on (1) tax free childcare, (2) the universal 15 hours free childcare offer for three and four year olds, and (3) the extended childcare offer for three and four year olds, in the last year for which figures are available.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Eaton
	uin	HL2001
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2022 answer text <p>Tax-Free Childcare is for working parents of children aged 0-11, or 0-16 for disabled children, and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare. In the 2021/22 financial year the government spent £411.3 million on Tax-Free Childcare.</p><p>The numbers of families and children who have used Tax-Free Childcare between 2020 and 2022 are as follows:</p><ul><li>2019-20: 315,040 families used this entitlement for 396,365 children.</li><li>2020-21: 374,135 families used this entitlement for 461,705 children</li><li>2021-22: 512,410 families used this entitlement for 646,940 children</li></ul><p>The universal 15 hours free early education entitlement is available to all three and four-year-olds regardless of parental circumstances. The government spent £2,212,241,262 on the universal entitlement in financial year 2021/22.</p><p>The numbers of children registered for the universal 15-hour entitlement between 2020 and 2022 are captured annually, as follows:</p><ul><li>2020: 621,351 three-year-olds and 650,193 four-year-olds</li><li>2021: 574,845 three-year-olds and 637,146 four-year-olds</li><li>2022: 582,295 three-year-olds and 629,939 four-year-olds</li></ul><p>The extended 15 hours entitlement, also known as 30 hours free childcare, is available for eligible working parents of three and four year olds, on top of the universal 15 hours free early education entitlement. The government spent £837,497,401 on the extended 15 hour entitlement in the 2021/22 financial year.</p><p>The numbers of children registered for the 30 hours free childcare between 2020 and 2022 are as follows:</p><ul><li>2020: 248,399 three-year-olds and 97,305 four-year-olds</li><li>2021: 234,996 three-year-olds and 93,666 four-year-olds</li><li>2022: 249,388 three-year-olds and 98,738 four-year-olds</li></ul><p>The department does not collect data on parents who apply for the entitlements, only children who have registered.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL2000 question first answered 04/08/2022 14:54:35 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	4184 label Biography information for Baroness Eaton

1491512

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the proportion of employers in the childcare sector that would relax staff-to-child ratios in the event that Government guidelines are changed.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	42020
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>The government is consulting on moving to the Scottish ratios for two-year-olds, from a ratio of one-to-four (one adult to four children) to one-to-five (one adult to five children). The government is also considering how we can provide greater flexibility within ratios for childminders.</p><p>Alongside this consultation, the department is running a bespoke survey of early years providers to help us understand how the proposed changes to staff to child ratios in early years settings might affect provision, including their intention to adopt any changes. The results of this survey will be published.</p><p>Our priority continues to be to provide safe, high quality early years provision for our youngest children. Throughout this consultation process we are engaging fully with the sector and parents and carers.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bassetlaw answering member printed Brendan Clarke-Smith question first answered 05/09/2022 08:26:04 answering member 4756 label Biography information for Brendan Clarke-Smith
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1491514

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the average hourly wage for staff in the childcare sector.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	42021
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>According to survey estimates, the mean hourly pay (calculated as gross weekly earnings divided by contracted weekly work hours) for people working in the early years sector in 2021 was as follows, by provider type:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Early years provider type</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Mean hourly pay (2021)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>All providers</p></td><td><p>£12.50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>All providers except childminders</p></td><td><p>£12.94</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Private providers</p></td><td><p>£11.94</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Voluntary providers</p></td><td><p>£11.58</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nursery classes</p></td><td><p>£18.78</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Maintained nursery schools</p></td><td><p>£19.38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Childminders</p></td><td><p>£8.23</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Table 12, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2021</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bassetlaw answering member printed Brendan Clarke-Smith question first answered 05/09/2022 08:05:27 answering member 4756 label Biography information for Brendan Clarke-Smith
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1491515

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of opportunities for training available to staff in the childcare sector.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	42022
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>As part of education recovery and in response to the needs of the workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic, the department is investing up to £180 million in the early years sector. This will build a stronger workforce and enable providers to deliver high-quality teaching and help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youngest children, particularly those in the most disadvantaged areas.</p><p>The workforce investment includes two further phases of the early years professional development programme, building on an initial £20 million programme. This high quality, evidence-based programme is targeted at practitioners in disadvantaged areas. It will provide targeted support to early years staff in communication and language, maths, and personal, social, and emotional development.</p><p>In response to feedback from the sector, the department is supporting up to 5,000 early years staff and childminders to become qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCo).</p><p>The department is also developing new early years training routes. Employer trailblazer groups have developed level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, and, in August 2021, the department launched a level 5 apprenticeship. From April 2021, free level 3 early years qualifications became available through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.</p> answering member constituency Bassetlaw answering member printed Brendan Clarke-Smith question first answered 05/09/2022 08:32:02 answering member 4756 label Biography information for Brendan Clarke-Smith
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1491516

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the proportion of staff in the childcare sector who are paid the National Minimum Wage.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	42023
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>The latest figures from the department’s education 'Providers’ finances: survey of childcare and early years providers', collected in 2021, show that 22% of staff aged 23 and over working in a private or voluntary setting, nursery class or maintained nursery school were paid at or below the statutory minimum of the National Living Wage, the survey can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2021</a>.</p><p>At the time of the survey, the rate for both the National Living Wage (for those aged 23 and over) and for the National Minimum wage (for those of at least school leaving age) was £8.72 until April 2021 and £8.91 from April 2021.</p><p>Some 65% of childminders were paid below these rates. However, as childminders are self-employed, the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage do not apply.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bassetlaw answering member printed Brendan Clarke-Smith question first answered 05/09/2022 08:30:21 answering member 4756 label Biography information for Brendan Clarke-Smith
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1491517

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate the Government has made of the number of childcare providers in each region of the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	42024
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Wirral South, and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.</p> answering member constituency Bassetlaw answering member printed Brendan Clarke-Smith question first answered 05/09/2022 08:40:57 answering member 4756 label Biography information for Brendan Clarke-Smith
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern