Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing Government (a) financial and (b) other support for people looking to open new nurseries.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of parents of children with special educational needs have returned to work due to the provision of Universal Credit in (a) Eastbourne constituency and (b) East Sussex over the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not available and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claimants are parents of a child with special educational needs in (a) the UK and (b) Eastbourne constituency.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not available and to provide it would be at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a curiosity-led learning approach in early years settings.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to give children the right foundation for future progress in school and life. The EYFS defines three characteristics of effective teaching and learning: playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. Early years settings have the flexibility to utilise different learning approaches and design their own curriculum, based on the EYFS statutory requirements.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to encourage early years providers to adopt a curiosity-led learning approach.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to give children the right foundation for future progress in school and life. The EYFS defines three characteristics of effective teaching and learning: playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. Early years settings have the flexibility to utilise different learning approaches and design their own curriculum, based on the EYFS statutory requirements.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the code-based system for accessing government-funded childcare to reduce the administrative burden on early years providers.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of funded childcare and to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year overall on free hours and early education entitlements. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. As the childcare support is gradually rolled out, the department is encouraging consideration and take up through a parent facing campaign called Childcare Choices.
The department is using a range of communications to drive users to the Childcare Choices website to find out more information about the different offers, check eligibility, sign up for updates and to apply. This has included a leaflet campaign distributed to over four million households across the country, as well as GP surgeries and supermarkets. The department has partnered with Peanut and Mumset to provide information on the available and expanded offers and directly communicated to parents through the Childcare Choices newsletter, which now has over 257,000 subscribers.
This has resulted in over 210,000 childcare codes being validated for two year olds to benefit from 15 hours childcare from April 2024. The department is continuing to work with a range of partners to refine and disseminate messaging around the existing and new entitlements as it moves forward using a range of channels.
The number of code validations will continue to grow, meaning even more working parents will have the option to have a family and a career, whilst also helping to grow the economy. The department continues to engage with local authorities and providers regarding the effective working of the code-based system.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the take up of the newly introduced funded childcare.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of funded childcare and to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year overall on free hours and early education entitlements. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. As the childcare support is gradually rolled out, the department is encouraging consideration and take up through a parent facing campaign called Childcare Choices.
The department is using a range of communications to drive users to the Childcare Choices website to find out more information about the different offers, check eligibility, sign up for updates and to apply. This has included a leaflet campaign distributed to over four million households across the country, as well as GP surgeries and supermarkets. The department has partnered with Peanut and Mumset to provide information on the available and expanded offers and directly communicated to parents through the Childcare Choices newsletter, which now has over 257,000 subscribers.
This has resulted in over 210,000 childcare codes being validated for two year olds to benefit from 15 hours childcare from April 2024. The department is continuing to work with a range of partners to refine and disseminate messaging around the existing and new entitlements as it moves forward using a range of channels.
The number of code validations will continue to grow, meaning even more working parents will have the option to have a family and a career, whilst also helping to grow the economy. The department continues to engage with local authorities and providers regarding the effective working of the code-based system.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into women's State Pension age changes, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s on those women in Eastbourne constituency.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024, what estimate the Government has made of the potential cost of providing compensation to eligible women.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.