Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of giving summer-born and premature children the right to start reception at the age of five.

The costs of this change would depend on the level of take up, which is difficult to predict. We are gathering evidence to help us better estimate the likely take up and costs. If large numbers of parents choose to delay their summer born child’s entry to reception, the costs could be significant.