Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of nursery top-up fees on parents’ decisions regarding nursery attendance.

The 15 or 30 hours must be able to be accessed free of charge to parents and there must not be any mandatory charges for parents in relation to the free hours. This does not prevent providers from offering and charging for food and other consumables, as long as these charges are not mandatory

The statutory guidance also emphasises transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed on to parents, including that any additional costs should be clear on websites, contracts, and invoices.

The Parent Poll Wave 15 found just 27% of all parents identified the cost of childcare as the primary barrier to accessing their preferred childcare option. 72% of parents, with children attending formal childcare, said they had to pay for extras. Additionally, our £3.7 billion high needs capital investment between 2025 and 2030 will support the creation of new specialist places, including in the early years. Local authorities will be able to use the funding to create the right mix of places, wherever they identify gaps.