Recommendation 25

HM Government Not Addressed

Reject. DfE already offers a range of childcare support to working parents and those in education, and this sits alongside support available from other government departments, including DWP and HMRC, in helping parents with the costs of childcare. The full range of support that parents can access is set out on the Childcare Choices website and on GOV.UK . The Government actively promotes these entitlements on a regular basis on social media and elsewhere, ensuring parents are aware of the support available to help with childcare costs. The 2018 Office for National Statistics report on families and the labour market in England shows that many mothers return to work and need childcare when their youngest dependent child turns three. For this reason, the 30 hours free childcare entitlement scheme aims to support working families with the cost of childcare after their child reaches their third birthday, by reducing the impact of childcare as a barrier to entering the workplace. Responses to the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents show that in 2019, parents who applied for the 30 hours did so to maintain (39%) or increase (21%) their working hours, and 78% of parents felt that 30 hours had improved their family finances. 30 hours free childcare is available to working parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at National Minimum/Living Wage (the equivalent of just over £142 per week/£7,413 per year in 2021–22), and is also open to parents who are self-employed or on zero- hour contracts. All parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free childcare a week for all three and four year-olds, helping them develop social skills and preparing them for school. Parents could also use this time to support them to look for work. Disadvantaged two-year-olds are also able to access up to 15 hours of free childcare each week, with around 143,000 children benefitting in January 2020. Those who benefit include children with education, health and care plans, looked after or previously looked after children, or whose parents are in receipt of certain income support benefits who earn less than the maximum income threshold of £15,400. The 2019 Department for Education Parents Survey shows that parents who had not used any childcare in the past year (neither formal nor informal) tended not to use childcare out of choice, rather than due to constraints. Around seven in ten (69%) parents who were not using childcare said they would rather look after their child(ren) themselves, while only 16% said it was because they could not afford childcare.