Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effect on parental (a) employment and (b) productivity of the (i) Tax-Free childcare and (ii) 30-hours free childcare scheme.

The government is keeping Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare under review and will continue to evaluate the effects.

We are conducting a programme of research and analysis to help us to evaluate the schemes, which we will publish once it is complete.

The independent evaluation of 30 hours’ early implementation and early rollout areas found that 23% of mothers and 9% of fathers had increased their working hours after receiving support through 30 hours. The full report was published in July 2017 and can be found at

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/628938/Evaluation_of_early_implementation_of_30_hours_free_childcare_-_Brief.pdf

Over 2 million parents have visited the Childcare Choices website since it was launched in March 2017. Through the site, parents can find out what government help is available and information on how to apply for each offer.

They can also use the childcare calculator to understand what offers might be best for them, and scenario play to see how that might change if they increase their hours or their circumstances. The calculator has been used over 1.6 million times since it was launched.