Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents have applied for government-funded childcare codes for September 2024; and how many codes have been validated by childcare providers.

Since 2 September 2024, eligible working parents of children from nine months old can access 15 hours of government-funded early education per week.

Take up from parents is roughly in line with the position at this point in time prior to the April phase of the rollout for eligible working parents of two year olds. Internal figures show a similar trajectory, with over 200,000 entitlement codes validated by providers, meaning parents have secured a place. Thanks to the hard work of local authorities and childcare providers, the department is confident delivery is on track.

The department has not published figures yet because it normally takes a few weeks for local authorities and providers to have validated codes following the 31 August application deadline. The department will be publishing data on codes issued and codes validated for September 2024 in due course.