Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are eligible for 30 hours free childcare in the Salford local authority area.

The government set out in the 2015 Spending Review that we expect 390,000 children to be eligible for 30 hours free childcare. This figure is derived from national survey data taken in January and is an average across the year. Estimates at a regional and local authority level are not available due to the relatively small population that we are estimating within sub national geographies.

We publish termly experimental statistics showing the number of children in a place. The most recent publication showed that 1,535 codes were issued in Salford and 1,550 children were in a 30 hours places in the summer term. The full publication – including a local authority level breakdown - is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-summer-term-2018.

As we move in to the second year of delivery, we will continue to publish Management Information on the number of codes issued for 30 hours. This will be available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated. The most recent publication on 9 August shows that 996 codes have already been issued in Salford for the start of the next academic year.