Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average annual cost of childcare for households with (a) one child, (b) two children and (c) more than two children (i) under the age of two and (ii) between the ages of two and five; and what recent steps she has taken to improve access to affordable childcare.
The department does not estimate the average annual cost of childcare in the way the question has set out. The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ incorporates a breakdown of weekly childcare spend at family level, which includes families with 1, 2 or 3+ children, and also at child level, including child age. It is also the case that some parents use formal childcare in term time only (38 weeks) whereas others use it year-round.
In the Spring Budget announcement of 15 March 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The reforms include: