Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the seriousness of the barrier posed by childcare for people pursuing a career in scientific research.

The department knows that for families with younger children, childcare costs are often a significant part of their household expenditure, which is why we are committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare.

The department is removing one of the biggest barriers to parents working by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that working families can access. Over £4.1 billion will be provided by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for working parents with children aged nine months to three years in England. This new offer will empower parents, allowing them to progress their careers and support their families. The department will invest £204 million in 2023/24 to uplift the rates for existing entitlements, rising to £288 million in 2024/25, with further uplifts beyond this.

We believe all parents should have access to childcare before and after the school day to help them work. That is why we are also launching a new national wraparound childcare pilot scheme. A total of £289 million will be provided in start-up funding to enable schools and local areas to test flexible ways of providing childcare. This will include, for example, exploring models such as partnerships between schools and working with private providers on-site. The department expects that this means most schools will have built up the demand to be able to deliver their own before and after school provision (8am-6pm) by September 2026.

Our proposals in the Spring Statement represent the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. By 2027/28, this Government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping families with young children with their childcare costs.

Postgraduate stipends are not classified as income for tax purposes by HM Revenue and Customs, meaning that neither PhD students, nor their university, pay income tax or National Insurance Contributions on their stipend. Because the stipend is not income from work, PhD students are therefore not eligible for free childcare support.