Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has provided recent additional support to maintained nursery schools in Stockport constituency in the context of rising inflation.

The department knows that the early years sector is facing economic challenges, similar to those being faced across the country. The department has already announced additional funding of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers. This includes all maintained nursery schools.

The department has also confirmed the continuation of maintained nursery school (MNS) supplementary funding throughout the spending review period, providing the sector with long-term certainty. More recently it has been announced that the department will be investing an additional £10 million into MNS supplementary funding from 2023/24, and have consulted on proposals to reform the distribution of this funding to ensure that it is being shared more evenly across all local authorities with MNSs. Our proposals mean that the vast majority of local authorities, including Stockport, will see their supplementary funding hourly rate increase, with a more generous increase for the lowest funded. We will respond to the consultation and publish final funding rates for 2023/24 this autumn. This is on top of the increase for this year, where we have increased the MNS supplementary hourly rate by 3.5%, equivalent to the increase in the 3 and 4-year-old hourly funding rates.

Further, the government recognises the impact rising energy prices can have on businesses, voluntary sector or public organisations of all sizes. On 21 September 2022, the former Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced a new Energy Bill Relief Scheme to support eligible schools and businesses large and small, including early years providers and maintained nursery schools, with their energy costs over the winter. The Chancellor has made clear this will continue from now until April 2023.