Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how often she plans to review the per hour funding allocated to providers as part of the 30 hours free childcare entitlement.

The Government committed, following the 2015 Spending Review, to invest £1 billion of additional funding per year in the early years free entitlements, including £300 million per year to increase national average funding rates. The hourly funding rate for each local authority to deliver 30 hours of childcare will be decided by the final early years national funding formula. The hourly funding rate for individual childcare providers will then be set annually by each local authority, following consultation with providers in their area.

The department is developing plans to monitor the implementation of 30 hours of childcare once it is in ‘steady state’ following the full rollout of the scheme from September 2017. We have been clear that getting the funding right is critical to successful delivery of this new entitlement.