Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 123752 on Childcare: Costs, what plans his Department has to carry out an up-to-date review of childcare costs in England.

The department’s long-standing annual Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers, capturing information from a sample of approximately 10,000 providers, is the main way in which the department collects robust, wide-ranging and up-to-date evidence on childcare providers in England. This year, the analytical programme will be enhanced with more detailed research on provider finances and childcare costs for 2-4 year olds. This will involve externally commissioned research with site visits to a representative sample of early years providers to provide us with robust, up-to-date evidence on childcare costs.

The most recent Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2016.