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The government continues to support families with their childcare costs. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced at the Spending Review a further £44 million investment in the 2021/22 financial year for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government\u2019s free childcare entitlement offers.<\/p>

In the 2021/22 financial year, we will increase the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 8p an hour for the entitlement for 2 year olds and, for the vast majority of areas, by 6p an hour for the entitlement for 3 year olds and 4 year olds. This will pay for a rate increase that is higher than the costs nurseries may face from the uplift to the national living wage in April 2021.<\/p>

During the COVID-19 outbreak, early years settings also have access to a range of business support packages including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Attendance at childcare has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, but we saw attendance rise over the autumn term.<\/p>

The Department for Education carries out its own regular research on the cost of delivering childcare. The 2019 provider finances report is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2019<\/a>.<\/p>

The provider finances report includes data on the following:<\/p>