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Funded Childcare
22 January 2024
Lead MP
David Johnston
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
Children & Families
Other Contributors: 24
At a Glance
David Johnston raised concerns about funded childcare in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
The Government is rolling out the largest expansion in childcare in English history. By September 2025, eligible working parents will have access to 30 hours of free childcare per week for children from nine months old until they start school. The government expects to spend over £8 billion annually by 2027-28, double the current expenditure. This rollout is phased: starting April 2024 with 15 free hours for two-year-olds and September 2024 with 15 free hours for nine-month-olds, followed by full 30-hour access in September 2025. Additional funding of £604 million will be provided in the current financial year alone to support this expansion. The government is also issuing temporary codes to eligible parents for tax-free childcare and addressing concerns about provider readiness and market capacity.
Houghton and Sunderland South
Question
The shadow minister questions the government's handling of the childcare expansion, citing a £120 million shortfall, funding uncertainty, and provider concerns. She asks how the shortfall will be addressed, when providers will receive funding rates, and guarantees for on-time delivery.
Minister reply
The Minister responds that the £120 million issue affects September 2024 onwards, allocating funds to cover additional weeks as needed. He encourages local authorities to confirm funding rates early and states no families will miss out. The Minister also criticises Labour's lack of policy.
Kit Malthouse
Con
North West Hampshire
Question
The MP proposes simplifying childcare funding by consolidating various streams into a single tax break for families.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledges the proposal but believes the current system is effective, yet remains open to discussions with his colleague.
Karin Smyth
Lab
Bristol South
Question
The MP questions the complexity of accessing childcare in her constituency and requests a workforce plan to stabilise the sector.
Minister reply
The Minister assures that tens of thousands are already benefiting from the programme, despite provider closures, while noting increases in staff numbers and places.
Question
A constituent raises an issue with childminders' inability to claim funding for their own children, differing from nursery owners.
Minister reply
The Minister acknowledges the current legislation but has no plans to change it at present and offers to discuss the matter further.
Justin Madders
Lab
Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
Question
We know of the challenge that many parents face in trying to find an appropriate nursery for their children, but it is even harder when a child has special educational needs. According to messages I have received, some nurseries are refusing to take such children on. Can the Minister say without equivocation that that is unlawful?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman has made an important point, and he is entirely right. We have heard from great organisations such as Dingley’s Promise that providers have not given places to children with special educational needs, and the team and I are looking into that to ensure that it is not the case.
Question
Parents asked for support with childcare and the Treasury and the Government have delivered it, but the system does need to be simplified. I have been following the analysis of the codes by Pregnant Then Screwed, which announced today that a fix had been found and thanked the Department. Will my hon. Friend meet, for instance, the New Deal for Parents group, which is looking for long-term simplifications? Will he also tell us how he is working through the different local authority areas to show that there will be places available now and also in September?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend has been campaigning on this issue since she arrived in this place. The tax-free childcare code issue was a specific issue caused by parents needing to reconfirm their eligibility every three months to prove that they were still eligible. If they did that quite late last year, they were concerned that they might not be able to get the place they needed in time for the 31 March deadline. As my hon. Friend says, Pregnant Then Screwed has fixed that issue. I would be happy to meet the groups that she mentioned. On the sufficiency of places, we are in monthly contact with local authorities to ensure that they have sufficient places, and only a very small number are reporting any concerns at this point.
Helen Morgan
Lib Dem
North Shropshire
Question
A report from the Early Education and Childcare Coalition last November found that only 17% of nursery managers said they could offer the extended entitlement, because of the crisis in recruitment in the sector, and 35% said they would limit the number of places they offered unless the Government helped with recruitment. More than half of all nursery workers have said they are planning on leaving the sector in the next 12 months. What will the Minister do to address the crisis in recruitment and retention in the sector so that nurseries can provide the extended entitlement that parents want?
Minister reply
We have seen a 4% increase in the number of staff in 2023, compared with 2022. None the less, part of the reason why this is a phased implementation and expansion of childcare is to ensure that we have the number of staff we need, and in a couple of weeks we will be launching a big recruitment campaign to get more people into the sector.
Desmond Swayne
Con
New Forest West
Question
Will the Minister name and shame those authorities that are being dilatory in publishing their rates?
Minister reply
I reserve the right to do that, but we hope that if we ring them up first and ask them to publish—with the threat of doing that if they do not—they will do so.
Question
The current system of childcare support is not working: IT problems are causing parents to be locked out of the system; codes are not working; there are no timescales to sort problems; there is no response to complaints; and people are waiting weeks for moneys to be paid to providers. If the current system is not working, how does the Minister expect to reassure parents that the new system, which will rely on the same codes and systems, is going to work?
Minister reply
I simply do not accept what the hon. Lady says—[Interruption.] If she wants to send me details, I will be happy to take them up with any local authority that is not doing what it is asked to do. On the two particular issues with the roll-out, we have moved quickly and provided solutions for them.
Question
This is the biggest ever expansion of childcare and it will be transformational for many working parents, so it is bound to be really complicated to implement. The Minister has just said that only a tiny number of local authorities are reporting that they think they will not have sufficient places, so does that mean that the vast majority of local authorities say that they will have sufficient places? What is he doing to encourage more people to come into the profession and act as childminders?
Minister reply
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right: the vast majority of local authorities are already reporting that they will have the number of places that they need. We are working with the small number that have challenges and we are confident that they will be in the right place by that point. On her question about childminders, one of the things we are doing is introducing a brand-new childminder grant scheme to encourage more childminders into the great early years careers that are available.
Florence Eshalomi
Lab Co-op
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green
Question
I heard the Minister talk about the staffing. For a new parent or carer, handing over their young child to the staff in the sector is one of the most scary things. Those staff do fantastic work but are often paid low wages. The Women’s Budget Group has estimated that there will need to be at least 40,000 additional new early years staff to cope with the increase in entitlement in terms of recruitment and retention in the sector. Will the Minister outline when we can expect the long-term workforce plan for the early years sector, so that we can actually have the staff? It is no good having this increase in entitlement if there are no staff to look after the children.
Minister reply
The hon. Lady is right that we need more staff. I think she refers to the estimate in time for September 2025, rather than for the first part of the roll-out in April, which is part of the reason for the current recruitment campaign. We are pleased to have already seen a 4% increase in the number of staff.
Matt Vickers
Con
Stockton West
Question
I welcome the fact that the Government are rolling out the biggest ever investment in childcare in England. Will my hon. Friend outline how much the average working family will benefit from the extended childcare entitlements?
Minister reply
My hon. Friend is right that it is the biggest expansion of childcare provision in history. By the time the roll-out is complete in September 2025, it will save the average family up to £6,500 a year in childcare costs.
Stella Creasy
Lab Co-op
Walthamstow
Question
Many of us tried to warn the Government that this would be like Help to Buy, pushing up demand without tackling supply. Numbers matter in this sector, and it is 313 days since the policy was announced and just 70 days before it is due to be implemented. There have been 30 separate questions in this place about the staffing shortfall, and none of them has been answered. There are two children chasing every registered place, and only two local authorities have actually agreed the rates. It is little wonder that parents are frustrated. Will the Minister set out, here and now, the staffing shortfall in terms of delivering the two-year-old offer in April? Will he tell us what it is, and will he tell us when he expects to close it?
Minister reply
As I have already said, the roll-out is based on—
Question
I declare an interest as the father of two wonderful children, Charlotte and Persephone, who go to nursery in this very place and will benefit from the new proposals. The UK has a declining birth rate—on average, 1.92 children per woman—and we clearly need more children. Time and again, when surveyed, women who want more children say that they are not having more children because they cannot afford it. I thoroughly welcome the money that has been announced, but what more is being done to support parents who say they want more children but cannot afford to have them? That could perhaps include looking at the tax rate.
Minister reply
I hope Charlotte and Persephone enjoy their nursery provision here, which I am sure is among the 96% of early years providers that are good or outstanding. My hon. Friend is right that childcare is one of the biggest financial challenges facing families today, which is why we are pleased to save them so much money. I am happy to continue the conversation about what else he thinks should be done to support families.
Fleur Anderson
Lab
Putney
Question
The shortfall in childcare providers is a serious issue for constituents in Putney. Eastwood Nursery School, the last remaining state-maintained nursery in my constituency, is under immediate threat of closure. It provides training for childcare providers across the constituency, as well as excellent early years education. Does the Minister support state-maintained nurseries? Will he meet me to talk about the future of Eastwood Nursery School?
Minister reply
We certainly support state-maintained nurseries, which play a vital role in the sector. I would be delighted to meet the hon. Lady to discuss that particular case.
Question
I praise the Minister for being on top of his brief and for ironing out some of the misunderstandings flying around today. Is it not the case that, as others have said, the challenges of rolling out this offer sit within the broader context of the ongoing workforce challenge? Today I spoke to a provider that has 42 settings and is not able to fully staff a single one of them. I know the Minister is doing a lot of work on this, but will he say a little more about how he plans to meet that workforce challenge with his recruitment drive?
Minister reply
I thank my hon. Friend, who has also done a lot to champion the sector and to raise awareness of the challenge it faces. He is right that we need to get more people into the workforce, particularly for the September 2025 roll-out. That is what the recruitment campaign and the changes we made to the early years foundation stage are all about. We listened to providers on the flexibilities that might make their lives easier and delivered almost everything they asked for, in the hope that it will help them with recruitment and retention.
Liz Twist
Lab
Blaydon and Consett
Question
I recently visited the Ryton Willows Montessori nursery in my constituency, where its manager explained her concerns about the impact of the change on her, and how she would make the sums add up financially while providing an excellent service. We have heard that the final figures are not available; when will they be available? Will the Minister undertake to review the figures to see that they meet the needs of the sector?
Minister reply
We set our rates by conducting a survey of 10,000 providers to understand their costs and set rates accordingly. We delayed publishing the rates in November to provide more money for the Government's near 10% increase in the national living wage. If Ms Twist has specific evidence she wishes to send me, I will gladly look at it.
Question
Last Friday, I visited the Butterfly Lodge nursery in Blackpool and heard concerns from early years providers about significant cost increases such as utilities and the national living wage. What steps are the Government taking to stabilise the sector and prevent providers from leaving it altogether?
Minister reply
We have given additional money to the sector in the last financial year and this one to help meet these cost pressures based on a survey of 10,000 providers. If the hon. Gentleman wants to send me information or specific case studies, I will gladly look at it.
Kerry McCarthy
Lab
Bristol East
Question
I have parents in my constituency who are struggling with issues related to the portal for childcare reconfirmation. Will the Minister confirm that if these parents encounter problems after what was announced, I will be able to write to him and get an immediate response?
Minister reply
Yes, and I hope the hon. Lady will do so. We have taken a cautious approach by writing to everyone whose reconfirmation window goes from middle of February to the end of March to ensure no parent loses out as a result of this issue.
Clive Efford
Lab
Eltham and Chislehurst
Question
Childcare providers need to plan ahead but some local authorities are taking a long time to publish their rates. Can the Minister give more detail on what steps will be taken to provide the information they need?
Minister reply
We are in monthly contact with local authorities and at least monthly contact with providers about this issue. We are looking into why some local authorities take a long time to publish their rates, and we expect most to do so within coming weeks.
Question
The initiative is supposed to provide 700,000 additional childcare places, yet 5% of providers withdrew from the market last year. How does the Minister square that circle with funding pressures going forward?
Minister reply
We are doing all we can to help providers meet funding pressures and ensure parents have access to these hours as entitled.
Question
Every time the Government has made an announcement to improve childcare, I have welcomed it. However, given the poor preparation for this latest initiative, how can parents expect the Government to deliver on this promise?
Minister reply
We are in close contact with local authorities and providers to deliver the initiative. Parents will be able to get their two-year-olds' first 15 hours from April.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Question
Does the Minister believe that affordable childcare will take into account the need for nurseries to operate alongside the cost of living crisis? Can additional funding be found to meet this need?
Minister reply
The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about increased cost pressures. We have given £204 million in the last financial year and a further £400 million in the current financial year based on a survey of 10,000 providers.
Shadow Comment
Bridget Phillipson
Shadow Comment
The shadow minister criticises the lack of planning, departmental grip, and miscalculations leading to a £120 million shortfall in childcare funding. She questions the government's ability to deliver promised hours on time, citing provider concerns about financial viability and uncertainty over funding rates. The Labour party proposes a review led by Sir David Bell to ensure childcare supports both work choices for parents and life chances for children.
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