Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on extending the free 30 hours of childcare offer to include parents who are postgraduate students receiving PhD stipends.

In the Spring Budget 2023, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare. This includes the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, through which eligible, working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school. This will be rolled out in phases:

• From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week (over 38 weeks a year).
• From September 2024, this will be extended to parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds (over 38 weeks a year).
• From September 2025, working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will be able to access 30 free hours per week (over 38 weeks a year).

To be eligible for this offer, as with the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week of pay at national minimum or living wage and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year.

The key objective of this measure is to support parental participation in the labour market, which is why this offer is conditional on work. Students who participate in paid work in addition to their studies and meet the income requirements will still be eligible.

There are no plans to extend the eligibility criteria at present. The department recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support other than 30 hours for those in further or higher education.

The reforms announced build on the government’s current early education entitlements, which includes the universal 15 hour offer for all parents of 3 and 4-year-olds.

Students starting a postgraduate doctoral degree in 2022/23 are eligible to receive a postgraduate doctoral loan of up to £27,892. The loan is intended as a contribution to the cost of study, rather than to specifically cover tuition fees or livings costs.

Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.