All three and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education and helping parents to return to work. The government currently has no plans to extend these schemes.<\/p>
A small number of two-year-olds are also able to access up to 15 hours of free childcare each week. The core purpose of the two-year-old entitlement is to provide a developmental boost to disadvantaged children from low-income families who are less likely to use formal childcare, but who stand to benefit from it the most. Whilst the entitlement provides some practical support with the cost of childcare, this is not its purpose, with the primary focus of the entitlement remaining improving outcomes for children.<\/p>
The 2012 effective pre-school, primary and secondary education study in England and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development analysis of international Programme for International Student Assessment data both found no additional child development benefits of starting in childcare under the age of two.<\/p>
In addition to the free early education entitlements, the government offers tax-free childcare for children from 0 to 11 years old, or up to 16 if disabled. This scheme means that for every £8 parents pay their provider via an online account, the government will pay £2, up to a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child each year, or £4,000 if disabled.<\/p>
Working parents on a low income may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children, payable in arrears.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4674", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Vicky Ford"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chelmsford"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Vicky Ford"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-15T10:37:30.693Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-02-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Day Care"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending 15 hours of free childcare to one-year olds.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/473", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Preston"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sir Mark Hendrick"} ], "uin" : "149724"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284309", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284309/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
This Government recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic, whether directly or indirectly, is having an impact on the mental health of individuals, including those working remotely.<\/p>
<\/p>
The determinants of mental health and wellbeing are numerous and their relationships to one another other complex. Therefore, the impact of working from home on mental health and wellbeing is likely to vary considerably across individuals depending on wider circumstances.<\/p>
<\/p>
There is some evidence suggesting that mental health and wellbeing have improved for some homeworkers but worsened for others, and that this impact is influenced by the degree of organisational support among wider, social, factors.<\/p>
<\/p>
Emerging evidence from the early stages of the pandemic suggests that the negative impacts of homeworking are likely to disproportionately affect women (particularly mothers), young people and those from lower socioeconomic groups.<\/p>
<\/p>
We will continue to monitor outcomes from the range of data sources that become available.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4105", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Justin Tomlinson"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Swindon"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Justin Tomlinson"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-12T14:15:28.797Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-02-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Coronavirus: Remote Working"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of people's (a) mental health and (b) wellbeing with respect to remote working during the covid-19 outbreak.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/473", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Preston"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Sir Mark Hendrick"} ], "uin" : "149726"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284310", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284310/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is clear that e-cigarettes should only be used by smokers to support their route to quitting smoking.<\/p>
In the current Tobacco Control Plan for England, the Government commissioned Public Health England to publish annual updates on the evidence on e-cigarettes, including on their patterns of use. Their latest report, published in March 2020, found no evidence that vaping among adults leads them to start smoking and little evidence that increases in vaping among young people leads to increases in smoking. The report is available at the following link:<\/p>
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaping-in-england-evidence-update-march-2020<\/a><\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4380", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jo Churchill"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bury St Edmunds"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jo Churchill"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-15T16:29:48.05Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-02-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Electronic Cigarettes"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that people using vapes don't start using cigarettes.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"}
], "uin" : "149761"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284312", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department of Health and Social Care"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284312/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The number of people in England diagnosed with pancreatic cancer was 8,688 in 2016, 8,980 in 2017 and 8,885 in 2018, which is the most recent data available.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4380", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jo Churchill"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bury St Edmunds"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jo Churchill"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-15T16:16:19.997Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "17"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Health and Social Care"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-02-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pancreatic Cancer"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in each of the last three years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"}
], "uin" : "149763"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284313", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Northern Ireland Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284313/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Secretary of State and I are working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive on the response to Covid-19.<\/p> As my Hon Friend will be aware, health is a devolved matter. The Covid-19 dashboard on the Department of Health\u2019s website provides daily updates on the number of confirmed outbreaks in NI care homes. This dashboard is the responsibility of NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) statistics within the Department of Health and can be found on the following link:<\/p> https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/covid-19-daily-dashboard-updates<\/a><\/p> Supporting the care home sector through this pandemic has been a critical part of the UK\u2019s response, and while public health and social care are devolved, the UK Government has provided support to the Department of Health where necessary, including increasing testing capacity, with over 1 million tests provided under the national testing initiative, providing vaccines across the UK and supporting healthcare in Northern Ireland with over £3bn extra funding.<\/p> The UK Government is ensuring essential services are protected. That is why we have committed to offer the first vaccine dose to all those aged 80 and over, care home residents and staff, and frontline health and social care workers by 15 February, in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4091", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Robin Walker"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Worcester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Robin Walker"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-02-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-02-11T16:56:35.707Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "21"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Northern Ireland"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Northern Ireland"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-02-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Care Homes: Coronavirus"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate his Department has made of the number of care home (a) residents and (b) staff in Norther Ireland diagnosed with covid-19 in each of the last 6 months.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"}
], "uin" : "149764"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284315", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1284315/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Healthcare Professionals (HCP), who work in the assessment centres, produce reports on which Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) decisions, both for ESA and UC, are based. The decision itself is made by DWP staff not the HCP. Those decisions can be changed at both Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) and appeal.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Statistics on Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (WCA) outcomes are published quarterly. The latest figures covering the outcome of completed initial and repeat WCAs, including appeals decisions and mandatory reconsiderations, can be found at:<\/p> https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment<\/a><\/p> <\/p> Additional breakdowns of the ESA WCA figures can be found at:<\/p> https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/<\/a><\/p> <\/p> Guidance for users is available at:<\/p>