Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to provide additional funded childcare places in areas subject to Tier 2 and Tier 3 local covid alert level restrictions to help support parents and carers with work commitments.

The government continues to support families with their childcare costs, and we are planning to spend over £3.6 billion on our early education entitlements during the 2020/21 financial year. The early years entitlements include 15 hours a week of childcare for disadvantaged 2 year olds, 15 hours a week for all 3 and 4 year olds and an additional 15 hours a week for 3 and 4 year old children of eligible working parents. Parents’ eligibility to the early years entitlements is not affected by being in a tier 2 or tier 3 area.

On 20 July 2020, we announced that we will continue to pay local authorities for the childcare places that they usually fund, for the autumn term. This will give nurseries and childminders another term of secure income, regardless of whether fewer children are attending because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

At the Spending Review, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a further £44 million investment for the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers. Further details and information on how this will be distributed will be made available as soon as possible.