His Majesty’s Treasury published a tax information and impact note on applying VAT to independent school fees, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

The department does not hold data on the number of parents or carers that are entitled to government funded childcare and have purchased additional hours.

We are delivering more support to working families. Eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and older are now benefiting from 30 hours of funded childcare per week (over 38 weeks a year). Families using their full entitlement can save an average of £8,000 per child per year.

In 2026/27 we expect to provide over £9.5 billion in early years entitlements, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24.

As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department is leading a cross-government review into the early education and childcare support that is provided by different parts of government. The Review is supporting the vision for early education and care set out in the ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’ publication, one that strengthens children’s life chances across the country, supports parents’ work choices, is simpler and easier to use, and improves access.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

The department does not hold data on the number of parents or carers that are entitled to government funded childcare and have purchased additional hours.

We are delivering more support to working families. Eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and older are now benefiting from 30 hours of funded childcare per week (over 38 weeks a year). Families using their full entitlement can save an average of £8,000 per child per year.

In 2026/27 we expect to provide over £9.5 billion in early years entitlements, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24.

As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department is leading a cross-government review into the early education and childcare support that is provided by different parts of government. The Review is supporting the vision for early education and care set out in the ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’ publication, one that strengthens children’s life chances across the country, supports parents’ work choices, is simpler and easier to use, and improves access.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our plan for change.

Children become eligible for the working parent entitlement from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.

Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.

Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.

Children born in April, May or June 2025 will have qualified to access the offer from April 2026. Due to the termly deadlines, children who were born in July and August 2025 will not be able to access the offer until September 2026. We cannot determine which parents of those children born in those cohorts were eligible as we do not hold information on income-based eligibility.

As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department is leading a cross-government review into the early education and childcare support that is provided by different parts of government. The Review is supporting the vision for early education and care set out in the publication ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, one that strengthens children’s life chances across the country, supports parents’ work choices, is simpler and easier to use, and improves access.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our plan for change.

Children become eligible for the working parent entitlement from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.

Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.

Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.

Children born in April, May or June 2025 will have qualified to access the offer from April 2026. Due to the termly deadlines, children who were born in July and August 2025 will not be able to access the offer until September 2026. We cannot determine which parents of those children born in those cohorts were eligible as we do not hold information on income-based eligibility.

As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department is leading a cross-government review into the early education and childcare support that is provided by different parts of government. The Review is supporting the vision for early education and care set out in the publication ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, one that strengthens children’s life chances across the country, supports parents’ work choices, is simpler and easier to use, and improves access.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our plan for change.

Children become eligible for the working parent entitlement from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.

Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.

Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.

Children born in April, May or June 2025 will have qualified to access the offer from April 2026. Due to the termly deadlines, children who were born in July and August 2025 will not be able to access the offer until September 2026. We cannot determine which parents of those children born in those cohorts were eligible as we do not hold information on income-based eligibility.

As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department is leading a cross-government review into the early education and childcare support that is provided by different parts of government. The Review is supporting the vision for early education and care set out in the publication ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, one that strengthens children’s life chances across the country, supports parents’ work choices, is simpler and easier to use, and improves access.

The 15 or 30 hours must be accessible free of charge to parents and there must not be any mandatory charges for parents in relation to the free hours.

Paragraph A1.38 of the early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities states that local authorities must take all steps available to ensure that the free entitlements are available free of charge and that providers do not charge parents for top‑up fees or any general charges, including but not limited to supplementary charges on top of the government-funded hours.

The statutory guidance also emphasises transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed on to parents, including that any additional costs should be clear on websites, contracts, and invoices.

The department is committed to ensuring that all children have the best possible start in life and is committed to improving school readiness with a clear ambition for 75% of children to reach a good level of development by 2028.

Support for parenting and the home learning environment is central to this, as what happens at home has the biggest impact on a child’s life chances. We are supporting families of children aged 0–5 to build strong foundations for development through everyday interactions such as talking, playing and reading.

To deliver this, Best Start Family Hubs have been expanded nationally, with a hub now available in every local authority area, making it easier for families to access universal support close to home.

Further, the government is rolling out universal childcare entitlements, helping more families access high-quality early education and childcare while supporting children’s learning and development before they start school.

​As the last government set out when announcing the expansion of government funded childcare in 2023, this aimed to tackle the fact that ‘the employment rate and hours worked by parents, particularly mothers, drops after childbirth and persists until after their children reach school age’.

Access to childcare continues to be a key factor in helping parents to work. Official statistics from the 2025 Childcare and Early Years Parent survey highlight that around two thirds (66%) of mothers in families with children aged 0 to 4 years said that having reliable childcare helped them to work, and that in the absence of the working parents offer for 9 months to 2 year olds, 40% in receipt of the offer said that they would be working fewer hours.

However, we know that many of those who need and benefit from early education and childcare miss out. Children who attend high-quality early education and childcare between ages 2 and 4 on average perform better at every stage of school, with children from low-income families benefiting the most. Nearly 1.5 million children aged 9 months to school age are excluded from the full 30-hour entitlement because their parents do not meet the eligibility rules. Children in lower income areas face both fewer childcare places and fewer high-quality providers on their doorstep. Childcare is a key barrier to those on low incomes working more, with a disproportionate impact on women.

This is why the department is leading an Early Education and Childcare Review to improve the system so that it is simpler, fairer and focused on children, ensuring support reaches the families who need it most. Through this, as the former Secretary of State for Education set out, universal childcare is something towards which we should build.

​As the last government set out when announcing the expansion of government funded childcare in 2023, this aimed to tackle the fact that ‘the employment rate and hours worked by parents, particularly mothers, drops after childbirth and persists until after their children reach school age’.

Access to childcare continues to be a key factor in helping parents to work. Official statistics from the 2025 Childcare and Early Years Parent survey highlight that around two thirds (66%) of mothers in families with children aged 0 to 4 years said that having reliable childcare helped them to work, and that in the absence of the working parents offer for 9 months to 2 year olds, 40% in receipt of the offer said that they would be working fewer hours.

However, we know that many of those who need and benefit from early education and childcare miss out. Children who attend high-quality early education and childcare between ages 2 and 4 on average perform better at every stage of school, with children from low-income families benefiting the most. Nearly 1.5 million children aged 9 months to school age are excluded from the full 30-hour entitlement because their parents do not meet the eligibility rules. Children in lower income areas face both fewer childcare places and fewer high-quality providers on their doorstep. Childcare is a key barrier to those on low incomes working more, with a disproportionate impact on women.

This is why the department is leading an Early Education and Childcare Review to improve the system so that it is simpler, fairer and focused on children, ensuring support reaches the families who need it most. Through this, as the former Secretary of State for Education set out, universal childcare is something towards which we should build.

​As the last government set out when announcing the expansion of government funded childcare in 2023, this aimed to tackle the fact that ‘the employment rate and hours worked by parents, particularly mothers, drops after childbirth and persists until after their children reach school age’.

Access to childcare continues to be a key factor in helping parents to work. Official statistics from the 2025 Childcare and Early Years Parent survey highlight that around two thirds (66%) of mothers in families with children aged 0 to 4 years said that having reliable childcare helped them to work, and that in the absence of the working parents offer for 9 months to 2 year olds, 40% in receipt of the offer said that they would be working fewer hours.

However, we know that many of those who need and benefit from early education and childcare miss out. Children who attend high-quality early education and childcare between ages 2 and 4 on average perform better at every stage of school, with children from low-income families benefiting the most. Nearly 1.5 million children aged 9 months to school age are excluded from the full 30-hour entitlement because their parents do not meet the eligibility rules. Children in lower income areas face both fewer childcare places and fewer high-quality providers on their doorstep. Childcare is a key barrier to those on low incomes working more, with a disproportionate impact on women.

This is why the department is leading an Early Education and Childcare Review to improve the system so that it is simpler, fairer and focused on children, ensuring support reaches the families who need it most. Through this, as the former Secretary of State for Education set out, universal childcare is something towards which we should build.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 January 2026 to Question 107232.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-01-20/107232.