Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help increase the (a) availability and (b) affordability of childcare in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care to improve the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent.

From September 2024, eligible working parents of children age nine months and above have been able to access 15 hours childcare a week for 38 weeks a year. From September 2025, this entitlement will be extended to 30 hours a week. The department is also growing the provision of wraparound childcare, which is before and after school provision, for primary school children.

In 2024/25, the department expects to provide over £1.7 billion to support local authorities and providers deliver the childcare expansion. This will rise to over £4.1 billion in 2027/28. By the same year, we expect to be providing over £8 billion every year overall on new and existing early years entitlements.

For Lincolnshire County Council, the hourly rate for three to four year olds for 2024/25 is £5.47, which is an increase of 5.2% on 2023/24. For 2 year olds, this rate is £7.61 per hour and for under 2s, £10.36 per hour.

In addition to the entitlements, parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare. Parents can check what childcare support they are entitled to via the Childcare Choices website, which is accessible at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England on their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing, including supporting them through our childcare delivery support contract where appropriate.