Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of the 30 hour free childcare scheme in England in the 2017-18 financial year.

We want parents to have access to a range of affordable childcare, giving them increased flexibility in their working hours and helping children thrive in the crucial early years. That is why the department is investing £3.5 billion in our early education offers this year alone. The cost of 30 hours free childcare is set in table 1, attached. The total for 2017-18 is due to rounding.

The number of children that have benefitted from 30 hours free childcare in each year is set out in table 2, attached.

In total, around 600,000 children aged 3 and 4 years old benefitted from a 30 hours place throughout the first 2 years of delivery.

We do not hold data on estimates of the number of parents that have benefitted from the 30 hours entitlement in England.