Andrea Leadsom
Main Page: Andrea Leadsom (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)Department Debates - View all Andrea Leadsom's debates with the HM Treasury
(1 year, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberI do not accept the overall characterisation that the hon. Lady has given. Just in November last year, 428,000 families and 511,000 children benefited from tax-free childcare. The announcements last week will make a significant contribution, and of course that work will start immediately, with the Department for Education consultation. We have a commitment of £204 million for the coming financial year, and £288 million for the following year, to increase supply so that we can deliver this as quickly as possible.
I congratulate the Treasury team on the excellent new policy of providing much more childcare support to families. Will my right hon. Friend persuade the Chancellor to meet me and a small group of colleagues to talk about the policy in the round and about how we can give more support to all families, providing more flexibility where informal childcare is provided—for example, by grandparents—and ensuring that families who want to look after their children at home are not, in effect, left out and left in poverty as a result of the decisions they make for their family?