Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to ensure parents have access to affordable childcare.

In July 2022, the department announced measures to increase take-up of childcare support and reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. This included consulting on changing staff to child ratios for two-year-olds in group-based settings and clarifying flexibilities for childminders, to give providers more autonomy. The department has announced additional funding of £160 million in the 2022/23 financial year, £180 million in 2023/24 financial year and £170 million in 2024/25 financial year, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers.

The department has also announced a £1.2 million marketing campaign underway via the Childcare Choices website to ensure that every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for.

The department continues to work across government, looking at ways to make childcare more affordable and to encourage families to use government-funded support they are entitled to.