Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of early years funding rates for two and three year olds for meeting staffing costs, including required non contact time for preparation, setup, and safeguarding obligations.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In 2026/27, the department expects to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, including an increase of 15% in Early Years Pupil Premium, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24. Staff costs make up the most significant proportion of provider costs. Therefore, due to tighter staffing ratios, the cost of delivery is highest for younger children, which is reflected in the differing hourly funding rates.
To calculate rate uplifts, the department uses an analytical model which considers data from the Early Years Census and the survey of childcare and early years providers, various government forecasts such as average earnings growth and the consumer price index, and the national living wage to determine cost pressures for the early years Sector.
All early years providers are legally required to keep children safe and promote their welfare, and all practitioners must undergo safe training as set out on the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework. To further support settings with safeguarding training requirements, the department is developing a free online safeguarding training package for early years settings which will be available later this spring.
We will consult on changes to how early years funding is distributed later this year.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in light of plans to invest £41 million in school expansion, what consideration has been given to directing comparable investment into the early years sector.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
High quality early years is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life, and is essential to our Plan for Change. As the government builds a stronger economy with sustainable public finances, the department is continuing to invest in early years. This financial year alone we expect to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements. This more than doubles annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24, as we have successfully rolled-out the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents.
On top of this, we are boosting availability and access through a £400 million capital investment in the school-based nurseries programme, supporting school-led provision and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers and childminders operating from school sites.
The department has already made a real impact, providing £82 million of capital funding to over 600 primary and maintained nursery schools across phases 1 and 2. Phase 3 is backed by up to £325 million of additional funding and invites local authorities to develop multi-year funding proposals that outline plans for new, or expanded, school-based nurseries in their area.
PVIs and childminders can partner with schools and local authorities in phase 3 to help deliver flexible nursery provision from school or Best Start Family Hub sites, building on the 52 funded partnerships from phases 1 and 2.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of statutory requirements on numbers of early years staff being present at least 30 minutes before and after funded sessions; and what funding is available to cover those additional hours and work materials.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In 2026/27 the department expects to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, including an increase of 15% in Early Years Pupil Premium, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24. To calculate rate uplifts, we use an analytical model which considers data from the Early Years Census and the survey of childcare and early years providers, various government forecasts such as AEG and CPI, and the national living wage to determine cost pressures for the Early Years Sector. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about childcare delivery issues they may be facing.
The hourly funding rate for entitlement hours is intended to cover the core costs of providing 15 or 30 hours of childcare to parents. This includes costs associated with staffing such as salaries as well as non-staff costs such as rent, business rates and utilities costs associated with delivering the government funded hours.
The department will consult on changes to how early years funding is distributed later this year.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent the funding model for early years settings resulting in operating losses for those settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In 2026/27 the department expects to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, including an increase of 15% in Early Years Pupil Premium, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24. To calculate rate uplifts, we use an analytical model which considers data from the Early Years Census and the survey of childcare and early years providers, various government forecasts such as AEG and CPI, and the national living wage to determine cost pressures for the Early Years Sector. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about childcare delivery issues they may be facing.
The hourly funding rate for entitlement hours is intended to cover the core costs of providing 15 or 30 hours of childcare to parents. This includes costs associated with staffing such as salaries as well as non-staff costs such as rent, business rates and utilities costs associated with delivering the government funded hours.
The department will consult on changes to how early years funding is distributed later this year.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what contingency plans are in place in the event that early years settings (a) reduce places and (b) close due to staffing levels.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring adequacy of children provision in their area. The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract. No local authorities have reported to us that they do not have sufficient childcare places. According to the most recent Official Statistics from Ofsted and the department, childcare places increased by around 17,400 over the last year, equivalent to a 1% rise, between 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025.
The government is investing in training, qualifications and career pathways to professionalise and strengthen the early years workforce. To help providers with costs, including staffing, funding rates are being significantly uplifted by over £8 billion in 2025/26 and over £9.5 billion in 2026/27, as well as a £75 million grant to grow places and staff.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Parental Orders were issued in 2025, 2024 and 2023.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes regular data on parental orders in our quarterly Family Court statistics bulletin: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants in their Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
Allegations of misconduct can be multi-faceted and have complex circumstances. Whistleblowing procedures include allegations of public interest and record whether an issue is deemed to be a Civil Service Code breach. To protect the personal data of employees, we do not report on small numbers of cases. The Department does not record the number of cases specifically relating to the Civil Service Code breaches outside of Whistleblowing procedures, but any allegations of such breaches are dealt with seriously as part of internal procedures.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many apprentices the Department recruited in 2025, compared with (a) 2022, (b) 2023, and (c) 2024.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Year | Number of New Apprentices Recruited | Total Apprenticeship Starts (New Recruits and Internal Conversions) |
|---|---|---|
2022 | 36 | 95 |
2023 | 35 | 126 |
2024 | 42 | 101 |
2025 | 29 | 65 |
The Department had a greater number of apprenticeship starts overall during this period, as the total figures include existing members of staff converting to an apprenticeship in addition to the new recruits shown above. These total apprenticeship starts were primarily composed of existing staff upskilling rather than new external recruitment.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department provides to highway authorities on how the place before movement principle should be operationalised in rural transport assessments, particularly where multiple developments exert cumulative impacts across neighbouring settlements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My officials work closely with counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on national planning policy, including how transport is considered in plan‑making and decision‑taking for new development.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, requires transport to be considered from the earliest stages of planning, using a vision‑led approach to support well‑designed, sustainable places. This includes integrating movement, streets and parking into scheme design, including in rural areas. The Government consulted on further changes to the NPPF between December 2025 and March 2026 and will publish its response in due course, alongside updated planning guidance.
The Department for Transport has also developed the Government’s Connectivity Tool, which combines land‑use and transport data to provide a consistent measure of access to jobs and essential services. This tool can support authorities and in understanding connectivity and potential changes to connectivity when assessing new development.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to establish a measurable framework for assessing when traffic materially undermines a village’s function as a place, rather than solely assessing vehicle capacity.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance includes a qualitative methodology for assessing the impacts of transport schemes on townscape, defined as the physical and social characteristics that contribute to a sense of place.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, requires a vision‑led approach to transport from the earliest stages of planning, ensuring movement, streets and parking are integral to place‑making. Where significant impacts on the transport network or highway safety are identified, mitigation should be considered to an acceptable degree through this approach. The Government consulted on further changes between December 2025 and March 2026 and will publish its response in due course. Forthcoming updated Planning Practice Guidance on transport assessments will support local authorities in applying these policies.