Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the additional cost required to extend the fruit and vegetable initiative for schools to nursery schools and other early years settings.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is available to pupils in key stage 1 attending fully state‑funded primary schools. The scheme entitles schools to claim a free piece of fruit or vegetable for all children aged 4 to 6 for each school day. The government has no current plans to extend the scheme.
However, we remain committed to deliver on our pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure that every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day, including access to a healthy breakfast which includes fruit. So far, we have delivered over 5 million breakfasts and, following the success of our early adopter scheme, we are rolling out to an additional 2,000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around half a million more children.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to extend the fruit and vegetables initiative for schools to nursery schools and other early years settings.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is available to pupils in key stage 1 attending fully state‑funded primary schools. The scheme entitles schools to claim a free piece of fruit or vegetable for all children aged 4 to 6 for each school day. The government has no current plans to extend the scheme.
However, we remain committed to deliver on our pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure that every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day, including access to a healthy breakfast which includes fruit. So far, we have delivered over 5 million breakfasts and, following the success of our early adopter scheme, we are rolling out to an additional 2,000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around half a million more children.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce (a) free and (b) subsidised meal provision in (i) private, (ii) voluntary and (iii) independent early years settings for children from low-income households.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have introduced the Best Start in Life strategy, and the Child Poverty strategy was published on 5 December 2025.
The department is extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026.
This significant extension of support will also apply to children attending school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.
Whilst children attending a private nursery do not currently receive free school meals, the department has tightened statutory guidance to make clear that while providers can charge parents who are accessing entitlement hours for certain optional extras, including food, these charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing their entitlements. If parents do not wish to purchase these from their provider, they should discuss with their provider what alternative options are available, including potentially supplying their own food and consumables.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending ring-fenced support for (a) nutritious meals and (b) food education to all early years settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Our landmark Child Poverty Strategy tackles the root causes of poverty by cutting the cost of essentials, boosting family incomes and improving local services so that every child can have the best start in life.
Removing the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures, such as expanding free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit from September 2026.
This will deliver the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began and will also apply to children in school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.
Under the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, any meals, snacks and drinks provided must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. The department has published new EYFS nutrition guidance, and the ‘Help for early years providers’ website offers resources on food activities and sensory food education. The EYFS guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6839b752210698b3364e86fc/Early_years_foundation_stage_nutrition_guidance.pdf.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, at what geographical level deprivation criteria will be applied in Phase 3 of the School-based Nurseries programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
High quality early years is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. School-based nurseries are one part of our diverse and vibrant early years landscape, and this government is boosting availability and access to early years places through the school-based nursery programme. Maintained nursery schools are eligible to apply for funding in Phase 2.
Phase 3 of the programme will launch in early 2026, when the department will publish guidance covering eligibility criteria and our approach to funding.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether maintained nursery schools will be eligible for capital funding in Phase 3 of the School-based Nurseries programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
High quality early years is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. School-based nurseries are one part of our diverse and vibrant early years landscape, and this government is boosting availability and access to early years places through the school-based nursery programme. Maintained nursery schools are eligible to apply for funding in Phase 2.
Phase 3 of the programme will launch in early 2026, when the department will publish guidance covering eligibility criteria and our approach to funding.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing business rates relief for independent nurseries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
For early years (including maintained nursery schools), the Government funds local authorities to deliver the early years entitlements through the early years national funding formula (EYNFF) for the 3- and 4-year-old entitlement and a separate formula for the 2-year-old entitlement. The hourly funding rate paid to local authorities for these entitlements is designed to recognise the average costs across different provider types and is intended to reflect staff and non-staff costs, including business rates.
Business rates are a broad-based tax on the value of non-domestic properties, including nurseries.
To protect small businesses, the Government has frozen the small business multiplier for 2025-26. Taken together with Small Business Rates Relief, this intervention ensures that over a million properties will be protected from inflationary increases.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release entitled Government delivers thousands more school-based nursery places, published on 4 September 2025, how many and what proportion of the extra school-based nursery places will be in Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
High quality early years is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. The government is boosting availability and access through the school-based nurseries programme, supporting school led provision and private, voluntary and independent providers and childminders operating from school sites.
Phase 1 is already delivering results, with £37 million successfully awarded to 300 primary phase schools creating up to 6,000 new childcare places. Applications were assessed based on a range of factors.
No applications for Huntingdon were awarded. However, building on phase 1, phase 2 of the school-based nursery programme launched on September 4, with a stronger focus on supporting families from disadvantaged areas. Primary schools and maintained nursery schools, including those in Huntingdon, have until 5pm on 11 December to apply for up to £150,000 from a £45 million fund, with capacity to deliver at least another 300 new or expanded school-based nurseries, offering up to 7,000 more places from September 2026.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure disadvantaged children in early years settings have access to healthy, nutritious meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to giving every child the best possible start in life. Good nutrition in the early years is essential for children’s health and long-term development, which is why we recently introduced new nutrition guidance in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework.
The new guidance, developed in collaboration with nutrition experts and sector representatives, will help early years providers understand how to meet the existing EYFS requirements.
Pupils attending a local authority, maintained, academy or free school nursery are entitled to free school meals (FSM), as long as they are either in full-time education or receive education both before and after lunch and meet the benefits-based FSM eligibility criteria.
From September 2026, the department will extend FSM to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, including those in state-funded school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of business rates on (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent nurseries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In April 2025, the Government removed eligibility of private schools in England for business rates charitable rate relief. Schools that satisfy the definition of a private school have lost entitlement to charitable rate relief entirely. This definition may include private schools with some nursery classes, which, despite the presence of some nursery provision will still be, by their nature, private schools.
Standalone nursery schools, where they have their own business rates assessments, were excluded from the legislation and, where applicable, have retained their charitable rate relief. This approach best ensures consistency with the underlying policy intent.
Analysis on the expected impact of this policy can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief