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1362424

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Centre for Progressive Policy report Women in the Workforce – Boosting Mothers’ employment and earnings, published on 14 October, and in particular the finding that the UK has the second lowest public spend on childcare among OECD economies.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL3325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>I welcome the report from the Centre for Progressive Policy on Women in the Workforce – Boosting Mothers’ employment and earnings. As the report highlights, inadequate childcare provision can act as a barrier to women’s participation in the labour market. This is why childcare policy in the UK is designed to provide working parents with support to continue to work.</p><p> </p><p>To support working parents with their childcare costs, the government introduced Tax-Free Childcare (TFC), which provides eligible working parents with 20% support on childcare costs, up to £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 for disabled children). The number of working parents benefiting from this is increasing: 308,000 families used TFC for 364,000 children in June 2021, up from 282,000 families using childcare for 329,000 children in March 2021.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to TFC, the government spent around £3.6bn in 20-21 on early childcare entitlements and we continue to support families with their childcare costs. All three- and four-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week, regardless of circumstance. Eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds can also access an additional 15 hours of free childcare per week, also known as 30 hours free childcare. Some parents may also be able to access the disadvantaged 2-year-old offer which gives 15 hours of free childcare per week to 2-year-olds who meet certain social and economic criteria.</p><p> </p><p>This approach is working – evidence shows that the government approach to childcare is helping to improve the employment rate for married/cohabiting women with dependent children, which has risen to 77.9% in, up 0.6% on the year (Q2 2021 vs Q2 2020), and 1.1% pre-covid (Q2 2021 vs Q2 2019).</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/11/2021 12:06:58 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1362425

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
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 what plans they have to increase the amount of subsidised childcare for children aged between three and four years old from 570 to 720 hours per year to cover the duration of school holidays
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL3326
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2021 answer text <p>All three and four year olds in England are eligible for 15 hours per week of free early education over 38 weeks, equivalent to 570 hours per year. This entitlement can be used at a range of early years providers, including over the school holidays. Working parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum/Living Wage and under £100,000 per year can claim an additional 15 hours, also known as 30 hours free childcare. The government currently has no plans to extend these schemes.</p><p>Outside of the free early education entitlements, working parents can benefit from the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, which can help them save 20% of their childcare costs, worth up to £2,000 per year for children under 12, or up to £4,000 for those under 17 if their child is disabled.</p><p>Working parents on a low income can also benefit from up to 85% of their childcare costs being reimbursed through Universal Credit Childcare, up to a total of £646 for one child, or up to £1,108 for two or more children.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/11/2021 13:43:32 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1361430

registered interest
date	19/10/2021
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of eligible universal credit claimants in Blackpool North and Cleveleys are claiming for childcare.
tabling member constituency	Blackpool North and Cleveleys
tabling member printed	Paul Maynard
uin	58810
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2021 answer text <p>The number of households on Universal Credit and those with Child Care entitlement, broken down by Parliamentary Constituency, can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 27/10/2021 15:35:36 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard

1354377

registered interest
date	09/09/2021
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of comprehensive childcare access on (a) levels of underemployment among parents and (b) improving local economies.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	45883
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2021 answer text <p>No such impact assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Childcare costs should not be a barrier to getting into work; this Government is committed to helping parents into work. Universal Credit pays up to 85% of childcare costs regardless of the hours worked, compared to 70% in legacy benefits and can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront prior to starting work, Work Coaches can use the Flexible Support Fund for eligible claimants to meet these costs until their first wage is received.</p><p> </p><p>All three and four year olds in England are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education and helping parents to return to work.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, 30 hours free childcare was introduced in England in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of three and four year olds. To be eligible, both parents, or a single parent, must earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum/ living wage (for parents aged 23 or over, this would work out at just over £7,400 per year) and less than £100,000 per year<strong>.</strong></p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 20/09/2021 16:48:13 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1352305

registered interest
date	03/09/2021
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 steps he is taking to tackle the educational gap between children of three and four years from low income families in receipt of 15 hours free childcare and those in receipt of 30 hours free childcare.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	42045
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>All 3 and 4- year-olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds are eligible for an additional 15 hours (30 hours) to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare.</p><p>The Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project suggested there was no evidence that full-time provision (of 10 sessions per week) resulted in better outcomes for children than part-time provision (for example, 5 sessions per week). Findings suggest that an extended period of pre-school experience on a part-time basis is likely to be more advantageous than a shorter period of full-time provision. Further information can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eppse-3-to-14-years" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eppse-3-to-14-years</a>.</p><p>The 2017 Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) report showed mixed outcomes at age 3 from childcare used at ages 2 to 3. Some measures showed some improvement with additional hours of childcare (such as cognitive outcomes, socio-emotional outcomes and peer problems) but some measures showed detrimental outcomes (such as emotional self-regulation). Further information can be accessed here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627098/SEED_ECEC_impact_at_age_3.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627098/SEED_ECEC_impact_at_age_3.pdf</a>.</p><p>The 2018 SEED Report concerned the impact of early education at ages 2 to 4 on child outcomes at age 4, and the importance of the early years home environment. The report suggested that outcomes were more strongly associated with demographics and the home environment than time spent in childcare. It did not find that the amount of childcare per week had any greater effect on the most disadvantaged children, although on one outcome, it had a greater effect on moderately disadvantaged children. The report can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738725/SEED_Impact_Age_4_Report_September_2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738725/SEED_Impact_Age_4_Report_September_2018.pdf</a>.</p><p>When 5-year-olds were assessed in 2019, nearly three-quarters of the country’s youngest children had achieved a good level of development. This is a substantial improvement, when around half of children achieved that same level of development in 2013, when comparable data is first available.</p><p>As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we have invested £17 million on the delivery of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention - improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during the outbreak. Two-thirds of eligible mainstream primary schools have signed up for this programme, the majority of these have free school meal rates above the national average. We estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development.</p><p>In June 2021 we also announced an additional £1.4 billion to support education recovery for children aged 2 to 19 in schools, colleges and early years settings, including £153 million which will provide the opportunity for evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners. This includes new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 42044 question first answered 10/09/2021 16:14:20 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1351041

registered interest
date	18/08/2021
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, what steps are taken to ensure that the local authority is provided with real time information regarding change in circumstances so that any housing benefit entitlements can be adjusted in cases where a claimant notifies HMRC of a change in their childcare costs affecting tax credits.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	40784
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>HMRC do not share information with local authorities about changes to their customers’ tax credits awards. Guidance on GOV.UK explains what steps Housing Benefit customers should take to contact their council/DWP to report changes which may affect their entitlement to Housing Benefit: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/report-a-change-of-circumstances" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/housing-benefit/report-a-change-of-circumstances</a>.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 10/09/2021 13:33:57 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1341969

registered interest
date	29/06/2021
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of current levels of subsidised childcare on the ability of mothers to return to work.
tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
uin	24293
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2021 answer text <p>No assessment has been made and it would require disproportionate costs to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours. Working families claiming Universal Credit (UC) can therefore reclaim up to 85 per cent of their eligible childcare costs each month, up to £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children, compared to 70% in legacy benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Eligible claimants can also get help from the Flexible Support Fund with initial up-front fees and costs as they move into work. Alternatively, help with upfront costs may also be available through Budgeting Advances.</p><p> </p><p>UC childcare aligns with the wider government childcare offer. This includes the free childcare offer which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week. The UC childcare cost element can be used to top up a claimant’s eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare is required. This means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/07/2021 17:21:29 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 11615 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1308058

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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 he has made of the effect of providing 15 hours free childcare for three and four year olds to people who are out of work on the ability of unemployed people with children to find work; and what comparative assessment he has made of the effect of (a) that policy and (b) the provision of 30 hours free childcare for people who are in work on levels of educational attainment of the children of households with (i) higher and (ii) lower rates of unemployment.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	179347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>The department offers universal 15 hours free childcare to all three- and four-year-olds in England for 38 weeks per year, regardless of parental income or employment status. The purpose of this entitlement is to provide free, high-quality early education, helping children to develop social skills and preparing them for school, with 93% of three- and four-year-olds benefitting in January 2020. 15 hours free childcare is also available for disadvantaged two-year-olds, including those from low-income households or those with special education needs or disabilities. In January 2020, approximately 143,000 children benefitted from this entitlement.</p><p>As the 15 hours policy was introduced with the primary aim of improving children’s outcomes, no evaluation has been undertaken of the impact of this policy on the ability of unemployed people with children to find work.</p><p>The 30 hours free childcare policy was introduced in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds, benefitting around 345,700 children in January 2020. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours. To be eligible, parents must earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum wage and less than £100,000 per year.</p><p>The evaluation of the national rollout of 30 hours free childcare, published in 2018, found that 27% of those using 30 hours at the time reported they were working more hours as a result of the policy. Further detail is available in the report here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-final-evaluation-of-the-national-rollout" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-final-evaluation-of-the-national-rollout</a>.</p><p>The government is tracking the impact of early education on children’s outcomes via the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED). There is mixed evidence from SEED on how the number of childcare hours used by children at ages three to four impacts their educational attainment. There is no clear evidence of an optimal number of hours for child development as the type of setting used, the quality of the setting, the starting age in childcare and the child’s home learning environment are also important factors influencing the child’s educational development.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 20/04/2021 10:01:36 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1287527

registered interest
date	19/02/2021
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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the 30 hours of free childcare a week to full-time graduate students.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	155406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2021 answer text <p>30 hours free childcare is an entitlement for working parents of three and four-year-olds. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours.</p><p>The Childcare Bill policy statement, published in December 2015, is clear that students will not qualify for 30 hours free childcare. However, students who undertake paid work in addition to their studies and meet the income requirements will be eligible for the additional hours. This means they do not have to physically work 16 hours a week but need to earn the equivalent of a week of 16 hours at national minimum wage or national living wage (currently just over £7,250 a year).</p><p>Students with children aged three and four will qualify for the universal 15 hours free childcare entitlement in England, regardless of the income or employment status of the parent, allowing them to access 15 hours per week of high-quality early education for their child.</p><p>Those undertaking a master’s degree are able to apply for a postgraduate master’s loan of up to £11,222 for help with course fees and living costs, which may include childcare.</p><p>Students starting a doctoral degree on or after 1 August 2020, can apply for a postgraduate doctoral loan of up to £26,445 which can also help with course fees and living costs, including childcare.</p><p>In cases where full-time students have additional needs that are not met through the student support system, support already available to them from their education institutions, they may be able to apply for help through Universal Credit. It remains the case that to be eligible for 85% reimbursement of childcare costs through Universal Credit Childcare a claimant must be in employment.</p><p>Further details on claiming Universal Credit, and Universal Credit Childcare, as a student can be found on GOV.UK at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 25/02/2021 17:42:34 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1284307

registered interest
date	05/02/2021
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending 15 hours of free childcare to one-year olds.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	149724
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/02/2021 answer text <p>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><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><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><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><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> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 15/02/2021 10:37:30 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick