Oral Answers to Questions

Theresa Villiers Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I call Theresa Villiers.

[Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet) (Con)]

15. What steps she is taking to improve access to affordable childcare.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Claire Coutinho)]

Improving parents’ access to affordable childcare is a Government priority. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to deliver the childcare choices campaign to raise awareness among parents and providers of the Government-funded subsidies available to support families.

[Theresa Villiers]

With the Budget coming up, will the Government look at how reducing the cost of childcare could help productivity by supporting women who want to go back into the workplace and bringing back over-50s who may have retired early partly to look after grandchildren?

[Claire Coutinho]

My right hon. Friend is right that childcare is about supporting women and parents into the labour market. We want to support families and are exploring options to achieve this. The Government have delivered a huge amount on childcare, including doubling the 15-hour entitlement for working parents of three to four-year-olds to 30 hours and introducing 15 free hours for disadvantaged two-year-olds.