Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that veterans have access to childcare options.

It is the department’s ambition that all families, including those from Armed Forces and Veteran communities, have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

In April 2026, over 200 new Best Start Family Hubs in areas not previously funded are now open to families, backed by over £900 million of investment. These hubs act as welcoming, one-stop shops rooted in local communities, supporting families from pregnancy through to early childhood with everything from infant feeding support and parenting advice to help with the cost of living and early identification of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Support will also extend beyond dedicated hubs into up to 2,000 community venues, known as Best Start Network Sites, by 2028, ensuring families can access help.

The department's guidance for Best Start Family Hubs sets out minimum expectations for supporting Armed Forces and Veteran families. Hub staff are expected to be aware of the unique challenges these families can face, including the cumulative impact of mobility, separation, deployment, life after service and bereavement, and to signpost families to relevant support services including the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Education Advisory Team and the dedicated Armed Forces Families Federations.

Best Start Family Hub staff are also expected to be familiar with the joint non-statutory guidance 'Service Pupils in Schools' (April 2025) and the MOD Local Authority Partnership (MODLAP) principles for supporting Service children with SEND through school transitions. The guidance also encourages the establishment of a dedicated military champion in every hub, linked to existing Armed Forces Covenant commitments.

Veteran families who are based in England can apply for government funded childcare through the Childcare Service or through their local authorities. Families may also be eligible for support if they receive Universal Credit.

Current service families may be eligible for 30 hours (over 38 weeks of the year) funded childcare support, which is available to eligible working parents from the term after their child turns nine months old until they start school. Parents must earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year to be eligible. In a two-parent household, both parents must meet the eligibility criteria.

All three- and four-year-olds are eligible for 15 hours free early education per week (over 38 weeks of the year), regardless of family circumstances. This is available the term after the child’s third birthday. Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare are also available to families to help with childcare costs.

The department wants to ensure that parents are aware of and are accessing all the government funded childcare support they are eligible for. The department is raising awareness of the government funded childcare support available via the Best Start in Life Parent Hub website to stimulate increased take up by eligible families, because we know this could make a significant financial difference to families. The website can be accessed here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.