Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick and Baroness Morgan of Cotes

Monday 20th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for his question. My understanding is that the measure he suggests does not necessarily tell us anything more than the free school meals measure does, but he, like me, wants the best for all disadvantaged pupils in the system, and to ensure that the funding is spent most effectively, not only helping those pupils to close the gap with their peers but ensuring that the brightest and best get right ahead.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

How will the Minister broaden opportunities for disadvantaged students and pupils in school, particularly primary school children, given that there are proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, which will be discussed later today, to eradicate various measures of child poverty?

[Nicky Morgan]

I understand that there will be a debate on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill later today in the House, but the important point that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions made in his statement to the House was that just measuring an income target does not solve issues of disadvantage, one of which is educational attainment, and children from disadvantaged backgrounds not making the grade in basic skills such as reading and writing. Following spending on the pupil premium, we have seen the attainment in reading, writing and maths of disadvantaged pupils aged 11 increase by five percentage points since 2012.

Childcare Payments Bill

Debate between Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick and Baroness Morgan of Cotes

Monday 14th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

I entirely agree that families need support now. I have been setting out exactly what we have done in extending to 15 hours a week the free child care available for all three and four-year-olds, as well as for disadvantaged two-year-olds. On working tax credit, let me point out that the Government are spending £1.1 billion on the child care element of tax credits each year, so many families are still, rightly, receiving a huge amount of support through the tax credit system. We are proposing an enhancement of the child care offer that we already have.

We are taking action to drive up the supply of high-quality child care provision by legislating for childminder agencies, encouraging primary schools to open for longer, and reducing bureaucracy and red tape for providers—all steps that should help to drive supply up and costs down.

The Bill represents a further step towards helping hard-working families. We are committed to launching the scheme next autumn and rolling it out to all eligible families with children under 12 within the first year of its operation.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

There is a concern that while single parents can access the new system, families with one parent in work and one not in work would not be entitled to anything. What can be done to assist people in such circumstances? From a Northern Ireland perspective, I know that there will be a legislative consent motion to deal with this legislation, but what advice can the Minister give now, in advance of such an LCM and in advance of the Bill’s implementation?

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the hon. Lady for making that point, which is certainly of interest to everybody concerned with the issue of child care and who should look after children. I want to be very clear that this is about a choice, for those families who can afford it, in that they can decide that one parent will not be working, at least for a certain period. Of course, however, some families do not have that choice, with both parents needing to work, and there are lone parents who will need to work. For families where one parent is not working, we have introduced the married couples tax allowance, which has been legislated for in the Finance Bill, and those families will be receiving a tax benefit of just over £200 a year. This proposal is very much about enabling parents to play a full part in the labour market. That is why we have brought this Bill forward at this time.

[Ms Ritchie]

I am looking at this issue in a Northern Ireland context, and I am sure that there are many regions in Britain with similar circumstances. What happens if the other partner cannot access full-time or even part-time occupations, which is a reality for many families throughout the UK?

[Nicky Morgan]

Employment levels have gone up substantially under this Government. More people are getting jobs and more hours. As I say, the Bill is about a choice. With more people securing employment, this is about enabling families to make a choice if both parents need to or want to work, or, in the case of lone-parent families, providing support that is more generous than the current employer-supported child care voucher scheme.

The scheme, which launches next autumn, is to be rolled out to all those eligible families with children under 12 within the first year of its operation. The real triumph of the scheme is that it will make hundreds of thousands of parents who are currently excluded from support eligible for it.

The scheme has been designed so that support is available to the self-employed, who play a crucial role in our economy but are currently excluded, and so that it suits the needs of part-time workers, who are very often parents staggering their way back into full-time work, and those parents who are temporarily absent from the workplace—for example, during statutory parental leave. It is also designed to support those couples where one member is in work and the other is in receipt of carer’s allowance or employment and support allowance, by making them eligible for the new scheme.