Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent evaluation she has made of the capacity of childcare providers to provide 30 hours of free childcare from the eight pilot schemes that are piloting the new childcare entitlement; and if she will make a statement.

As promised, in September 2016, the Government launched 30 hours free childcare through eight Early Implementers one year in advance of full implementation of the offer from September 2017. Up to 5,000 working families will benefit in our eight Early Implementers areas. The Early Implementers are testing the delivery of the 30 hours free childcare offer, and providing valuable learning by developing a number of approaches. This includes supporting the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and developing flexible models to meet the needs of working parents.

In York, where there are no limits on the number of families who can benefit, around 83% of eligible families are already receiving 30 hours free childcare, just 6 weeks after the launch ‎of early implementation.

The department has commissioned an independent evaluation of early implementation of the 30 hours free childcare offer. The evaluation is focusing on generating learning that can be used by Early Implementers and all local authorities ahead of national rollout in September 2017. There will be a national findings event in the spring next year, and a formal evaluation report will be published in July 2017.