Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Government has spent on promoting the tax-free childcare scheme in each of the last four financial years.

The government is committed to supporting families with their childcare costs. 316,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 371,000 children and spent £35.0 million on top-up for families in September 2021; compared to 227,000 families who used Tax-Free Childcare for 263,000 children and spent £26.5m in September 2020.

The government has spent the following on marketing and research in the current and three previous financial years.

2018/19 – £1,113,270

2019/20 – £241,580

2020/21 – £197,338

2021/22 – £151,205 (full year forecast and not all costs are committed)

In 2018/19 marketing spend involved a national campaign as part of the phased rollout of the scheme.