Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend childcare grants to postgraduate research students.

Through the student loans company, the department offers a specific Childcare Grant (CCG) to support students with the costs of childcare whilst they are in study, which totals around £202 million per year.

The CCG offers parents support of up to 85% of their childcare costs up to a maximum of £183.75 a week for one child and £315.03 for two children.

CCG support is provided to individuals where both parents are students, the student is a lone parent, or the student parent’s partner is on a low income.

The government has no plans to extend CCG to postgraduate research students.

The government introduced new support packages for students starting postgraduate master’s degree courses from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and postgraduate doctoral degree courses from 2018/19 onwards.

These loans are not based on income and are intended as a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs including childcare. The new support packages have provided a significant uplift in support for postgraduate students while ensuring the student support system remains financially sustainable.

Students studying on postgraduate courses can apply for loans towards their course fees and living costs of up to £12,167 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate master’s degree courses, and up to £28,673 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate doctoral degree courses.

As postgraduate stipends are not classified as income for tax purposes by HMRC, meaning that neither PhD students nor their university pay Income Tax or National Insurance Contributions on their stipend, stipends are therefore not counted as income from work. However, it remains the case that students are eligible for universal 15 hours childcare, which is available to all 3 and 4 yearolds, regardless of family circumstances and/or income.