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<p>The department does not directly offer childcare places, but it does support the
take up of places, and each local authority has a duty to ensure that there are sufficient
childcare places for all parents that need them.</p><p>The department has invested
more than £3.5 billion in each of the last three years to deliver early education
entitlements. All three and four-year-old children can access 15 hours of free childcare
a week. We have doubled this for three and four-year-olds in families with working
parents, saving them over £6,000 a year. The 15 hours of free childcare is also available
for two-year-olds from lower-income families. The department recently announced that
it is investing additional funding for these entitlements worth £160 million in 2022/23,
£180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in the 2024/25 financial years, compared
to the 2021/22 financial year.</p><p>Outside of school hours, children aged five and
above can access wraparound childcare, holiday childcare and other out-of-school settings
that provide childcare. The department’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme
supported more than 600,000 children last summer with free holiday club places. We
are making more than £600 million available to local authorities in England over the
next three years for the HAF programme, so that we can continue to provide disadvantaged
children and families with access to clubs that provide healthy food and enriching
activities during the longer school holidays.</p>
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