Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out what companies with current Government contracts will be subject to the profit cap as proposed in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The profit cap provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill would apply in England to any non-local authority providers of children’s homes or fostering services, and subject to changing secondary legislation, supported accommodation. The government does not contract directly to companies to provide these services within scope of the profit cap provisions. Local authorities commission these contracts directly.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many level 7 apprenticeship starts there have been in small and medium sized businesses in each of the last five years.
Answered by Luke Hall
The most recent statistics on apprenticeship starts by business size relate to the 2020/21 academic year and are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-in-england-by-industry-characteristics.
The following table shows the number of apprenticeship starts at Level 6 and above by business size in the last five academic years for which data is available. Apprenticeships at Level 6 and 7 are not split out within published data so the figures are a combined total.
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
Small (0-49 employees) | 240 | 1,430 | 2,880 | 3,870 | 5,540 |
Medium (50-249 employees) | 80 | 850 | 1,550 | 1,850 | 2,390 |
Data for 2021/22 will be published in July 2024.
Apprenticeship starts are defined as the count of apprenticeship programmes that begin in an academic year, showing the take-up of programmes. An apprentice is counted for each apprenticeship they start at a provider.
More details on the methodology can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/apprenticeships-in-england-by-industry-characteristics-methodology#content-section-4-content-1.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.15 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, what weighting was given to (a) average earnings growth, (b) changes in the National Living Wage and (c) the (i) consumer price index and (ii) other measures of inflation when estimating that there would be £500 million of additional funding in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 financial years.
Answered by David Johnston
The last economic data available at the time funding rates are set will be used to determine the proportions allocated in the 2025/6 and 2026/7 financial years.
The department estimates the changing costs to providers by using the annual results of the Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers and the department’s cost pressures model, which also takes account of the different ages of children, as both reported staff-child ratios and the relative proportion of entitlement hours delivered by different provider types vary by child age. Separate calculations are therefore performed in respect of the different entitlements.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.15 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, how much and what proportion of the estimated £500 million of additional funding she plans to allocate in the (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by David Johnston
The last economic data available at the time funding rates are set will be used to determine the proportions allocated in the 2025/6 and 2026/7 financial years.
The department estimates the changing costs to providers by using the annual results of the Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers and the department’s cost pressures model, which also takes account of the different ages of children, as both reported staff-child ratios and the relative proportion of entitlement hours delivered by different provider types vary by child age. Separate calculations are therefore performed in respect of the different entitlements.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.8 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, if her Department will publish the metric used in the Spring Budget 2023 to calculate the proposed increase to the hourly rate at which childcare providers are paid to deliver free hours.
Answered by David Johnston
The Spring Budget announcement confirms how the department will uplift costs in future years. The department will use average earnings growth and National Living Wage to forecast how staff costs are changing for providers and CPI (a general measure of inflation) to forecast how non-staff costs will change.
By the 2027/28 financial year, this government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The estimated £500 million for 2025/26 and 2026/27, represents the additional cost of increasing funding rates, in line with these metrics and based on current forecasts, compared to if funding rates were kept at 2024/25 levels. A portion of this funding is reflected in the totals announced for the new entitlements at Spring Budget 2023 (and in table 4.1 referenced), which applied the same approach to uplifting funding rates as has been confirmed for 2025/26 and 2026/27 this week. Access to table 4.1 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6419c87d8fa8f547c267efca/Web_accessible_Budget_2023.pdf.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.15 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, whether the estimated additional £500 million of funding for childcare support is the same funding included within the funding envelope in Table 4.1 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC 1183.
Answered by David Johnston
The Spring Budget announcement confirms how the department will uplift costs in future years. The department will use average earnings growth and National Living Wage to forecast how staff costs are changing for providers and CPI (a general measure of inflation) to forecast how non-staff costs will change.
By the 2027/28 financial year, this government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The estimated £500 million for 2025/26 and 2026/27, represents the additional cost of increasing funding rates, in line with these metrics and based on current forecasts, compared to if funding rates were kept at 2024/25 levels. A portion of this funding is reflected in the totals announced for the new entitlements at Spring Budget 2023 (and in table 4.1 referenced), which applied the same approach to uplifting funding rates as has been confirmed for 2025/26 and 2026/27 this week. Access to table 4.1 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6419c87d8fa8f547c267efca/Web_accessible_Budget_2023.pdf.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 12562 on Pre-school Education: Pupil Premium what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of children who will become eligible for the 15 hours childcare entitlement in (a) April and (b) September 2024 that will also be eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium.
Answered by David Johnston
The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) gives providers additional funding to support disadvantaged children.
EYPP is currently available for 3 and 4 year olds eligible for the early years’ entitlements.
Parents may also get EYPP if their child is currently being looked after by a local authority in England or Wales, or if their child has left care in England or Wales through adoption, special guardianship order or a child arrangement order.
From April 2024, EYPP will be extended to all eligible 2 year olds, and from September 2024 to all eligible children aged 9 months to 3 years old.
On 19 December 2023, the department published indicative EYPP allocations for local authorities for 2024/25 as part of the wider Dedicated Schools Grant publication, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2024-to-2025.
The published tables include estimated numbers of children aged 9 months up to and including 2 year olds who the department anticipates will take up EYPP in 2024/25. This includes estimated part-time equivalents for EYPP.
Further details on how the department has calculated these estimates are set out in the following document: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2024-to-2025/dsg-technical-note-2024-to-2025.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to to her Answer on 6 February 2024 to Question 12559 on Special Educational Needs: Finance, when her Department will (a) complete and (b) publish their assessment of the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIFs) arrangements.
Answered by David Johnston
As confirmed in the government’s response on 20 September 2023 to the consultation on expanding the early education entitlements, the department is conducting a review of the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIF) funding arrangements, so that the department can better support parents, providers and local authorities as the expanded entitlements are rolled out.
At the completion of this review, the department will consider what information is most appropriate and helpful for the sector in their delivery of SENIFs. The department will look to draw examples of best practice together, with a view to sector-wide dissemination.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing special educational needs inclusion funding directly to providers based on identified need rather than through the early years national funding formula.
Answered by David Johnston
The early years national funding formulae contain an additional needs element, to take account of the number of children with additional needs in an area. This is important to ensure local authority level rates, and therefore allocations, reflect the needs of children in their area.
Local authorities establish Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funds (SENIFs) locally, using the early years block (distributed via the aforementioned formulae) and high needs blocks of their Dedicated Schools Grant allocation. More information on this allocation is available at: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2024-to-2025. These funds are intended to support local authorities to work with providers to address the needs of individual children with Special Educational Needs who are taking up the entitlements and can be passed on direct to providers by local authorities.
The government’s response on 20 September 2023 to the consultation on expanding the early education entitlements reiterated the department’s commitment, made in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan of March 2023, to undertake a review of the way local authorities operate their SENIFs.
The department intends to conduct a detailed assessment of the SENIF arrangements that local authorities currently have in place, looking at how SENIFs are being used nationally and how far they are meeting current need. The department will look to draw examples of best practice together, with a view to sector-wide dissemination, and recommend longer term changes that will improve the extent to which SENIFs can meet the needs of children taking up the entitlements.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to extend the eligibility criteria for the early years pupil premium to children aged 9 months to three years who receive the 15 hours childcare entitlement in 2024.
Answered by David Johnston
The early years pupil premium is currently available for 3 and 4-year-olds eligible for the early years entitlements.
From April 2024, the early years pupil premium will be extended to all eligible 2-year-olds and from September 2024 to all eligible children aged 9-months to 3-year-old accessing the early years entitlements. This will be payable on a maximum of 15 hours per week, or 570 hours per year.