Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to reply by Lord Nash on 10 December 2014 (HL Deb, col 1830), what progress has been made in establishing the Careers and Enterprise Company and making it operational.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Careers & Enterprise Company, which was set up to take a lead role in transforming the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people, was incorporated in February 2015. Since then it has been working with employers, schools and colleges, careers, enterprise and employer engagement providers and others to devise its strategy for transforming the way in which schools and colleges, in partnership with employers, help to prepare young people for adult life.
On 1 July 2015 the company announced the appointment of Claudia Harris as its Chief Executive Officer and a company board comprising Christine Hodgson, Chair of Capgemini UK (chair); Lord Young of Graffham, former Enterprise Adviser to the Prime Minister; Steve Holliday, Chief Executive Officer of National Grid; Brian Lightman, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders; and Dame Julia Cleverdon, Vice-Patron of Teach First and Vice-President of Business in the Community.
The Careers & Enterprise Company has made good progress with its set up and its delivery plans. The company will commence its services in the coming months, including publishing research on ‘what works’ in school-work engagement; launching its £5 million investment fund; and development of a digital ‘Enterprise Passport’ to help young people broaden and showcase their experience. The company has been engaging Local Enterprise Partnerships recently and the enterprise advisers in the network will support schools to improve their careers and enterprise offer, in particular by brokering links with employers and local careers and enterprise providers.
To date the company has received £10.95 million from government for its activities leading to delivery of the objectives set out by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State in December. As an independent company, it is for The Careers & Enterprise Company to publish its accounts in accordance with The Companies Act 2006.
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State is accountable to Parliament in the usual way for progress on improving careers advice and guidance for young people, including the contribution that the company makes to this.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how many primary schools have spare capacity to accommodate three and four year-old children of parents entitled to the new 30 hours free childcare allowance.
Answered by Lord Nash
Primary schools are an important provider of places for the current funded entitlement of 15 hours, with almost 297,000 three and four-year-olds benefiting from funded early education places in primary schools in January 2014. This is 94% all of three-year-olds and 99% of all four-year-olds. Schools have a track record of creating capacity by re-arranging their existing nursery provision, as we have seen where they have expanded their nurseries or worked in partnership with other providers, including for the delivery of funded two-year-old places.
The decision whether or not to make these sorts of changes is a choice for schools to make, but we would encourage them to consider establishing or expanding nursery provision, either directly by the school or in partnership with a third party. We will be working closely with schools and other providers to understand more about their capacity and what approaches might work best in their setting.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the draft regulations to be made under the Childcare Bill [HL].
Answered by Lord Nash
Following Second Reading of the Childcare Bill on 16 June 2015, I have written to colleagues responding to points raised in the debate. This included the government’s consideration of the impact of the Childcare Bill provisions on child poverty, the Public Sector Equality Duty, the government’s Family Test, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A full economic impact assessment will be published when draft regulations are published for public consultation in due course.
The government has also made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the legislation and to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when an Impact Assessment for the Childcare Bill [HL] will be published.
Answered by Lord Nash
Following Second Reading of the Childcare Bill on 16 June 2015, I have written to colleagues responding to points raised in the debate. This included the government’s consideration of the impact of the Childcare Bill provisions on child poverty, the Public Sector Equality Duty, the government’s Family Test, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A full economic impact assessment will be published when draft regulations are published for public consultation in due course.
The government has also made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the legislation and to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many families they estimate will benefit from the proposed provision of 30 hours free childcare contained in the Childcare Bill [HL].
Answered by Lord Nash
Currently around 600,000 families in England have three or four year old children with both parents in work. This number will change over time according to employment choices and population fluctuation. The number of families taking up the extended entitlement will depend on a number of variables including parental choices and how many four year olds will be in reception classes at school.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ascertain the views of staff employed in the early years sector regarding the content of the Childcare Bill [HL].
Answered by Lord Nash
On 25 June 2015, the government made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the Childcare Bill, to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage.
The government wants to engage with parents, providers and employers about how they currently access and deliver childcare and what they think are the relative priorities for an additional 15 hours of childcare. This will begin in the summer.
We want to hear what is important to parents in choosing a childcare provider and their views on how the extended entitlement will best meet their childcare needs. We will make the best use of the consultation channels available, including social media and online forums and we are keen to work with employers who have a shared interest in this agenda to hear the views of their busy, working parents. Many voluntary and community sector organisations have already offered to host events for parents and providers, including groups representing and supporting disabled children and their parents, and we will be working with them to plan these events. We are also hoping to work closer with employer organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry who have welcomed the extension of the free childcare entitlement.
The government has committed to increasing the average rate that providers are paid for the entitlement and the cross-government review of the cost of providing childcare is underway. The objective of the review is to inform decisions on the level of funding providers require to deliver quality childcare provision at good value to the taxpayer, and be consistent with the government’s fiscal plans.
A call for evidence to inform the review was launched on 15 June and will close on 10 August. This is part of a process of gathering the necessary evidence which will inform the outcome of the review and report in the autumn.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what organisations and individuals they will consult in order to ascertain the views of parents on the contents of the Childcare Bill [HL].
Answered by Lord Nash
On 25 June 2015, the government made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the Childcare Bill, to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage.
The government wants to engage with parents, providers and employers about how they currently access and deliver childcare and what they think are the relative priorities for an additional 15 hours of childcare. This will begin in the summer.
We want to hear what is important to parents in choosing a childcare provider and their views on how the extended entitlement will best meet their childcare needs. We will make the best use of the consultation channels available, including social media and online forums and we are keen to work with employers who have a shared interest in this agenda to hear the views of their busy, working parents. Many voluntary and community sector organisations have already offered to host events for parents and providers, including groups representing and supporting disabled children and their parents, and we will be working with them to plan these events. We are also hoping to work closer with employer organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry who have welcomed the extension of the free childcare entitlement.
The government has committed to increasing the average rate that providers are paid for the entitlement and the cross-government review of the cost of providing childcare is underway. The objective of the review is to inform decisions on the level of funding providers require to deliver quality childcare provision at good value to the taxpayer, and be consistent with the government’s fiscal plans.
A call for evidence to inform the review was launched on 15 June and will close on 10 August. This is part of a process of gathering the necessary evidence which will inform the outcome of the review and report in the autumn.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the timetables for the consultation of parents and the funding review to ensure that childcare providers are properly reimbursed for the free places they supply, announced by Lord Nash on 16 June (HL Deb, col 1085); whether the findings will be made public; and what is their assessment of how the findings will impact on the content of the Childcare Bill [HL].
Answered by Lord Nash
On 25 June 2015, the government made a policy statement available to the House of Lords, setting out further details on the government’s intention behind the Childcare Bill, to aid Peers in their scrutiny of the Bill ahead of Committee Stage.
The government wants to engage with parents, providers and employers about how they currently access and deliver childcare and what they think are the relative priorities for an additional 15 hours of childcare. This will begin in the summer.
We want to hear what is important to parents in choosing a childcare provider and their views on how the extended entitlement will best meet their childcare needs. We will make the best use of the consultation channels available, including social media and online forums and we are keen to work with employers who have a shared interest in this agenda to hear the views of their busy, working parents. Many voluntary and community sector organisations have already offered to host events for parents and providers, including groups representing and supporting disabled children and their parents, and we will be working with them to plan these events. We are also hoping to work closer with employer organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry who have welcomed the extension of the free childcare entitlement.
The government has committed to increasing the average rate that providers are paid for the entitlement and the cross-government review of the cost of providing childcare is underway. The objective of the review is to inform decisions on the level of funding providers require to deliver quality childcare provision at good value to the taxpayer, and be consistent with the government’s fiscal plans.
A call for evidence to inform the review was launched on 15 June and will close on 10 August. This is part of a process of gathering the necessary evidence which will inform the outcome of the review and report in the autumn.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to respond to the report of the Select Committee on Affordable Childcare.
Answered by Lord Nash
The government welcomes the work of the House of Lords Affordable Childcare Select Committee and the excellent report it produced.
As a new government, we want to consider the report in full as we develop our own childcare proposals. The government will respond to the Committee’s report in the autumn.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many three and four year-old children benefitted from the 15 hours free childcare allowance in (1) nursery classes in primary schools, and (2) maintained nursery schools, in each of the previous five years.
Answered by Lord Nash
The information requested is shown in the table below.
Number of 3- and 4-year-olds benefitting from funded early education places in January each year
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
Nursery schools | 37,520 | 38,730 | 39,300 | 38,640 | 37,590 |
Nursery classes in primary schools | 291,510 | 296,550 | 302,720 | 297,090 | 296,840 |
Source: Early Years Census (EYC), School Census (SC), and School Level Annual School Census (SLASC)
The information is published as part of the statistical first release entitled “Provision for children under 5 years of age”.
The Department has also estimated that in 2013 there were 230,000 more registered childcare and early education places than in 2009, based on data from the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey. The basis for this internal estimate differs significantly from the above because: registered childcare includes unfunded childcare places; covering places for all children aged 0-5; including places in private and voluntary providers and provided by childminders. The estimate excludes out of school settings.