Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support parents with recent trends in the cost of daycare facilities.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

It is the department’s ambition that parents have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and childcare.

Next year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, which is a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.

From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months. So far, over 320,000 additional parents are now accessing a place. Going further, from September 2025, eligible working parents will be able to access 30 hours of early education and childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns nine months until they start school. The department has also taken action to protect parents from reported instances of very high additional charges on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible and affordable for parents. We have updated our statutory guidance, confirming that whilst providers can charge for some extras, these charges must not be mandatory.

Parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare.

The department also wants to ensure that parents are aware of and accessing all government funded childcare support they are eligible for. We are raising awareness of the government-funded childcare support available via the Childcare Choices website to stimulate increased take-up by eligible families, because this could make a significant financial difference to families.