Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with early years providers on (a) additional charges for (i) meals and (ii) other consumables and (b) taking steps to assess the impact of those charges on parents.

The department’s statutory guidance is clear that all eligible parents should have access to a free of charge place at an early years provider. The full guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/658309fd23b70a000d234d34/Early_education_and_childcare_statutory_guidance_-_April_2023.pdf. This means that a provider cannot charge parents “top-up” fees, which includes any fees covering the difference between a provider’s normal charge to parents and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver free places. Providers must not require parents to pay a registration fee as a condition of taking up their child’s free place.

Regarding charges for consumables, government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 30 hours a week of free, high-quality, flexible childcare for eligible 2 to 4 year olds. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services, and providers are able to charge parents for these. However, such charges should not be made a condition of accessing a free place.

Providers should also ensure that they have a policy in place to consider the impact of charges on disadvantaged parents and those who are unable to pay additional charges.

As set out in the department’s guidance, to ensure that parents can make informed decisions on their choice of childcare, providers should publish a statement of how they deliver the free entitlements and any additional charges for optional activities outside of the entitlements. This should set out clearly the charges for meals, optional activities or additional hours.

There have been no recent discussions regarding this subject between the department and early years providers, beyond the reiteration of the guidance to local authorities who manage local relationships with providers.