Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to monitor the level of additional charges placed on parents by childcare providers accessing government-funded free childcare.

Government funding is intended to deliver 30 hours a week of free, high quality, flexible childcare. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services. So providers can, and should feel free to, charge parents for meals, consumables (such as nappies and sun cream) and for additional activities (such as trips). Where a parent chooses to pay for these it is a private matter between the provider and the parent. But parents must not be required to pay any fee as a condition of taking up a free entitlement place, and must be offered alternative options.

Our guidance is clear that local authorities are responsible for ensuring that all eligible children can take up their place free of charge and that providers’ charging policies enable this. It is therefore the duty of the local authority to ensure that providers are not charging parents inappropriately.

The Department is currently procuring an independent evaluator to conduct an evaluation of the first two terms of national rollout of 30 hours in 10-20 local authorities across England which will include qualitative research to understand charging practices.