Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding his Department plans to provide for early years education in each of the next five years.

The Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 provided the following settlement for the Early Years Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant:

• Financial year 2022/23: £3,670 million.
• Financial year 2023/24: £3,691 million.
• Financial year 2024/25: £3,679 million.

Details on the Spending Review can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents.

This funding settlement reflected cost pressures and changes in the number of eligible children anticipated at the time of the Spending Review. Early years spending is demand-led, and allocations will be adjusted based on the actual number of children and hours taken up, as recorded on the annual censuses. Therefore, actual spending may vary from the planned expenditure detailed above.

Early years funding beyond the 2024/25 financial year will be determined at a future Spending Review.