Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether an impact assessment has been made of the impact of the planned rise in national insurance contributions on the number of childcare places to be provided (1) in total, and (2) by private sector providers.

The government has agreed that public sector employers will receive compensation in recognition of their increased National Insurance contributions from April 2025. For early years, public sector employers are school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools. For the early years sector, the department is providing £25 million of additional funding. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by public sector entities.

All providers will benefit from the £75 million expansion grant to support the early years sector to deliver the final phase of the expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025. This funding is being provided in recognition of the significant level of expansion required to support early years settings provide sufficient places for the new childcare entitlements.

This additional funding is on top of the over £8 billion the government expects to spend on early years entitlements in the 2025/26 financial year and the additional £25 million being provided to the sector as a result of the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium. The early years pupil premium rate will increase by over 45% in the 2025/26 financial year.