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1505863

registered interest
date	07/09/2022
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 discussions he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the (i) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (ii) Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the potential impact of rising energy bills on (A) nurseries and (B) other childcare providers.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	49209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2022 answer text <p>The government recognises and continues to assess the impact rising energy prices and inflation are having on nurseries, childminders and other childcare providers. Rising global prices of energy are likely to mean rising energy bills for childcare providers over the next two years, and that is why the government is taking action to support businesses, including those in the early years and childcare sector.</p><p>The Secretary of State meets regularly, and will continue to work closely with, his cabinet colleagues in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and HM Treasury to monitor the impacts on the early years and childcare sector.</p><p>On Thursday 8 September, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced measures to tackle current issues in the UK energy market, including the introduction of an Energy Price Guarantee to limit the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and electricity.</p><p>Typical UK households will pay no more than £2,500 a year on their gas and electricity bill for the next two years from Saturday 1 October. This will save the average household £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. This will be in addition to the announced £400 energy bills discount for all households and together they will bring costs close to where the energy price cap stands today. This will support childminders operating from their own home who are on domestic energy tariffs.</p><p>There will be a new six-month scheme for businesses and all non-domestic energy users, including charities and public sector organisations. Providers in all educational sectors will therefore be eligible, including providers of childcare on non-domestic premises like nurseries.</p><p>After this initial six-month scheme for non-domestic customers, the government will provide ongoing, focused support for vulnerable sectors. There will be a review in three months’ time to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 49210 question first answered 22/09/2022 16:49:21 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1505864

registered interest
date	07/09/2022
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of rising energy bills for childcare providers on the cost of childcare in the next two years.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	49210
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2022 answer text <p>The government recognises and continues to assess the impact rising energy prices and inflation are having on nurseries, childminders and other childcare providers. Rising global prices of energy are likely to mean rising energy bills for childcare providers over the next two years, and that is why the government is taking action to support businesses, including those in the early years and childcare sector.</p><p>The Secretary of State meets regularly, and will continue to work closely with, his cabinet colleagues in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and HM Treasury to monitor the impacts on the early years and childcare sector.</p><p>On Thursday 8 September, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced measures to tackle current issues in the UK energy market, including the introduction of an Energy Price Guarantee to limit the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and electricity.</p><p>Typical UK households will pay no more than £2,500 a year on their gas and electricity bill for the next two years from Saturday 1 October. This will save the average household £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. This will be in addition to the announced £400 energy bills discount for all households and together they will bring costs close to where the energy price cap stands today. This will support childminders operating from their own home who are on domestic energy tariffs.</p><p>There will be a new six-month scheme for businesses and all non-domestic energy users, including charities and public sector organisations. Providers in all educational sectors will therefore be eligible, including providers of childcare on non-domestic premises like nurseries.</p><p>After this initial six-month scheme for non-domestic customers, the government will provide ongoing, focused support for vulnerable sectors. There will be a review in three months’ time to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 49209 question first answered 22/09/2022 16:49:21 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1505326

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
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, whether he has plans to increase Government funding for early years providers.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	48508
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on its early education entitlements and the government will continue to support families with their childcare costs.</p><p>In the 2021 Spending Review, we announced additional funding of £160 million in the 2022/23 financial year, £180 million in the 2023/24 financial year and £170 million in the 2024/25 financial year, compared to the 2021/22 financial year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers and reflects cost pressures and changes in the number of eligible children anticipated at the time of the Spending Review.</p><p>For the 2022/23 financial year, the department has increased the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 21p an hour for the 2-year-old entitlement and, for the vast majority of areas, by 17p an hour for the 3 and 4-year-old entitlement.</p><p>Over the summer, the department is consulting on proposals to update the formulae used to deliver the early years entitlements funding. This will ensure the funding system remains fair, effective and responsive to changing levels of need across different areas.</p><p>The department expects to announce the early years funding rates for local authorities for the 2023/24 financial year in the autumn in the normal way.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 27/09/2022 15:54:01 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1505367

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
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 steps he is taking to support (a) nurseries, (b) childminders and (c) other childcare providers with the impact of rising levels of inflation.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	48439
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2022 answer text <p>The department recognises and continues to assess the impact rising energy prices and inflation are having on nurseries, childminders and other childcare providers.</p><p>On Thursday 8 September, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced measures to tackle the root cause of the issues in the UK energy market including the introduction of an Energy Price Guarantee’ to limit the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and electricity.</p><p>To support childminders operating from their own home who are on domestic energy tariffs, typical UK households will pay no more than £2,500 a year on their gas and electricity bill for the next two years from Saturday 1 October. This will save the average household £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. This will be in addition to the announced £400 energy bills discount for all households and together they will bring costs close to where the energy price cap stands today.</p><p>There will be a new six-month scheme for businesses and all non-domestic energy users, including charities and public sector organisations. Providers in all educational sectors will therefore be eligible, including providers of childcare on non-domestic premises like nurseries.</p><p>After this initial six-month scheme for non-domestic customers, the government will provide ongoing, focused support for vulnerable sectors. There will be a review in three months’ time to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support.</p><p>We will continue to work closely with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy to monitor the impacts on the early years and childcare sector. We will share further detail with the sector in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 48438 48440 48441 48442 question first answered 26/09/2022 15:34:35 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1491428

registered interest
date	21/07/2022
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, how long on average people who are claiming Universal Credit are having to wait to be reimbursed for childcare costs as of 21 July 2022.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	42019
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Where childcare is delivered during an assessment period, the cost paid for that childcare will be reimbursed at the end of the assessment period in which it is delivered. In order to be reimbursed, childcare costs can be reported to DWP up to the end of the assessment period following the assessment period in which they were paid.</p><p> </p><p>The exact waiting time for reimbursement, therefore, depends on how far in advance a claimant pays their childcare provider and how soon the claimant reports those costs to DWP.</p><p /><p>UC claimants who need help with upfront childcare costs to enter employment or significantly increase their working hours can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). This is non-repayable and will pay their initial childcare costs directly to the provider up to the first salary received.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 05/09/2022 15:57:25 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1491529

registered interest
date	21/07/2022
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 estimate the Government has made of the number of women in England who are unable to take on more paid work as a result of the cost of childcare.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	42031
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is aware that for some UC claimants' childcare costs presents challenges to entering employment. To support parents to become financially resilient by moving into work and progressing in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work, compared to 70% in Tax Credits. This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth over £13,000 a year.</p><p> </p><p>This support is available to all lone parents and couples, regardless of the number of hours they work. For couples, both parents need to be in paid work to be eligible unless one of the allowable exceptions is met.</p><p> </p><p>The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer in England and there are similar funded early learning offers in devolved nations. The Free Childcare offer provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3- and 4-year old's and disadvantaged 2-year old's, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year old's to 30 hours a week.</p><p>The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant's eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required. This offer means that for some claimants' childcare costs should not present any barriers to entering work.</p><p>UC claimants who need help with upfront childcare costs to enter employment or significantly increase their working hours can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). This is non-repayable and will pay their initial childcare costs directly to the provider up to the first salary received.</p><p> </p><p>Through a staged rollout from April 2022 onwards, 2.1m low paid Universal Credit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher paid work. This will be provided by work coaches and focus on career progression advice, such as considering skills gaps, identifying training opportunities, or looking for opportunities for the claimant to progress in their current role or in a new role. Jobcentres will be supported in this new role by a network of 37 Progression Champions across Great Britain who will spearhead the scheme. They will work with partners to address local barriers that limit progression, such as transport and childcare.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 05/09/2022 15:44:48 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern