Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2019 to Question 278350 on Children: Day Care, what support is available for parents of a child with (a) special educational needs and (b) a disability whose childcare costs exceed £4,000 each year.

Nationally, high needs funding for those with complex additional needs aged 0 – 25 has risen from £5 billion in 2013 to £6.3 billion this year. This includes an additional £250 million allocated in recognition of cost pressures being faced by local authorities.

To support parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability with childcare, we have made 2-year-old children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and/or an Education Health and Care plan eligible for the 15 hours entitlement.

To further support children with special educational needs and disabilities we have:

• introduced a Disability Access Fund worth £615 to settings that provide places for any 3 or 4-year olds who receive disability living allowance;

• required local authorities to have a SEN Inclusion Fund to support early years providers to address the needs of individual children with SEN; and

• introduced the Early Years National Funding Formula, which contains an additional needs element to take account of the number of children with additional needs in an area.