Written question asked by Mel Stride (Conservative) on Friday, 10 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 July 2026. It was answered by Paul Waugh (Labour) on Monday, 3 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Pre-school Education: Expenditure

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of spending on the Early Learning for 2 year olds scheme is for non-working families.

Answer: Since the introduction of the early learning for two-year-olds (EL2) entitlement the department has collected data on its uptake but does not break this data down by whether or not parents are in working families. Parents may be eligible for EL2 if they are in receipt of Universal Credit and have a household income of less than £15,400. Parents might also be eligible regardless of work status or income if their child is looked after, is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or has an education, health and care plan.

Secondary information