Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Secretary of State for Education, how many childcare providers in (a) the North East and (b) England are offering the 30-hours free childcare scheme with additional charges.

Our statutory guidance and operational guidance are clear that government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 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.

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). 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.

Where a parent chooses to pay for these, it is a private matter between the provider and the parent. Our guidance does not address how providers operate their private businesses over and above a child’s free hours.

The evaluation of early delivery areas found that providers were willing and able to offer 30 hours, and that parents were not deterred from taking up their place by additional charges.