Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the availability of additional funded childcare provision, ahead
of the expansion of the free childcare scheme in April.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, we are delivering the largest expansion of childcare in
England’s history. Latest projections show that more than 150,000
new funded places will be secured by April. We expect that number
to grow, collectively saving parents more than £500 million in
costs. We continue to support the sector’s expansion, with £400
million of additional funding to uplift hourly rates next year
and a guarantee that rates will increase in line with cost
pressures for two years after that.
(Lab)
My Lords, on these Benches we agree with the ambition of the
policy, but delivery of the expansion of the free childcare
scheme is falling short. With the charity Coram Family and
Childcare finding that parents in some parts of the country are
spending over 50% of their income on childcare, and with children
needing to be registered for nurseries before they are born, what
more are the Government doing to ensure that parents and children
get the expansion of free childcare that they have been
promised?
(Con)
It is slightly curious to say that delivery is falling short when
the new entitlements start in April of this year. The noble
Baroness knows that we have made a significant investment in
capital to support local authorities. We have made a number of
innovations in relation to the workforce and the uptake of the
scheme has been very encouraging. Most importantly—I think the
Institute for Fiscal Studies has confirmed this—we have announced
very generous funding rates, particularly for younger
children.
(LD)
My Lords, I think we are surprised at the confidence of the
Minister, given that we have seen a 50% increase in the number of
nurseries that have closed in just the last year, that 40% of
nurseries say they are undecided as to whether they will deliver
the new funded offer for two year-olds, and that 20% say that
they will but that places will be limited. Why is the Minister so
confident about this scheme? We hope she is right, but can she
give us more reassurance as to why she thinks it will definitely
happen?
(Con)
The first thing I would say is that the noble Baroness and the
noble Lord are right that this is a very ambitious expansion of
childcare. However, the really significant increase in capacity
will be in September 2025, so we have some time to put in place
what is needed to deliver on that. The noble Lord talked about
the number of nurseries that have closed. I know he is also aware
that the childcare workforce has gone up year on year, over
2022-23, and is up by 40,000 places—I mean that the number of
places has increased in the past five years by 40,000, while
there has been a 1% annual decline in nought to five
year-olds.
(Con)
My Lords, I understand that there have been reports suggesting
that the pressure on childcare places will cause special needs
children to be squeezed out of the provision. Could my noble
friend clarify the situation?
(Con)
We are aware of the concerns to which my noble friend refers. The
House knows that we are doing a great deal to create a fairer
special needs system. One of the key things here is the phased
implementation of the expansion to the 30-hours offer, to make
sure that we develop and continue to monitor the capacity for
children with special educational needs.
(Lab)
My Lords, why does it take a crisis before the Government act? Is
there no forward planning in her department to identify need and
do something before it becomes a crisis?
(Con)
Some people might recognise that the Government are making a very
substantial investment in this area. We have already spent more
than £20 billion over the past five years to support families
with the cost of childcare, and this next step will be another
major one.
of Hudnall (Lab)
I really do not think that the House would wish to cast
aspersions on the intention of this policy. Most people would
think that it was good and worth supporting. However, can the
Minister say whether there is an accurate match between the funds
that will be available to the sector from the Government to
support this expansion and the need that they have identified for
the funds in order to do it successfully? I think she will agree
that there has been some doubt as to whether those two numbers
match.
(Con)
I genuinely thank the noble Baroness for her question, because it
gives me the opportunity to set out a couple of things. One might
want to look at funding rates for different ages of children to
see whether there is sufficient funding. The funding for three to
four year-olds is almost identical in the new scheme to previous
rates. For two year-olds, the Government will pay £8.28 an hour,
compared to £6.07 previously, and for those between nine months
and two years, £11.22, compared to £6.05. I leave the noble
Baroness to draw her own conclusions.
(Lab Co-op)
Could the Minister help me? She spoke about entitlement. Could
she tell me what the difference is between entitlement and
delivery?
(Con)
The Government have committed to deliver the number of childcare
places needed for those who are eligible and seek to take
advantage of the opportunity that the Government offer.
Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that many families up and down Britain
are tearing their hair out over the cost and difficulty of
accessing quality affordable childcare? Clearly, delivery is
crucial. Would she also agree that childcare is one part of the
jigsaw puzzle, and that many working families in Britain are also
worried about security of employment and predictability of
working hours and income in order to be able to access childcare?
What we really need is a new deal for working people that
delivers that security, as well as childcare provision.
(Con)
I know the noble Baroness is well aware of the very substantial
increases that we have made in the national minimum wage. To put
it in context, the 30 hours of free childcare is equivalent to
just under £7,000 per child, which I think she will agree is a
substantial contribution to the average family income.
(Lab)
My Lords, one of the best things we had under was Sure Start; it was all over
the country and children benefited. Why can we not introduce full
Sure Start again, like we had 20-odd years ago, so that children
up and down the country can benefit?
(Con)
I am not sure time permits me to go into everything regarding
Sure Start, but I draw the noble Lord’s attention to the family
hubs that the Government are rolling out around the country. The
learning that we took from Sure Start and put into the family
hubs was a focus on disadvantage and the length of time for which
families can get support. Sure Start was, understandably, focused
on very young children, but those of us who are parents know that
one might need support with one’s children at different point as
they grow up. That is one of the philosophies behind the family
hubs.
(CB)
Has the Minister looked at comparative data which shows that
childcare is so much more expensive and the requirements so much
more stringent here than in other countries around the world? It
is also the case that calculations have been done in the States
to show that, if all childcare was absolutely free, it would
eventually be covered by the tax returns from women and other
parents who would be freed up to go back to work.
(Con)
That is exactly what the Government are delivering, and exactly
those calculations were behind the Government’s decision to make
such an increase. In 2027-28, we will be spending in excess of £8
billion on free childcare hours and early education. To make sure
that the noble Baroness is aware, from September 2025 there will
be 30 hours of free childcare from when a child is nine months
old until they start school.
