Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to introduce free wraparound childcare for armed forces families.

To make life easier for Armed Forces families balancing the competing demands of Service with home life, the Government has committed to providing funding for wrap-around childcare. Wrap-around care includes breakfast and after school clubs; these facilities provide modern dual-working families with the flexibility they need to manage their careers alongside homelife. Discussions are underway to consider the most efficient means of providing funding to families of children between the ages of four and 11 and to confirm timescales for implementation. In parallel to these discussions I am setting up a dedicated childcare team with immediate effect, to help families by working with military establishments to demonstrate need and encourage local authorities to build capacity.