Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 17
Fifth Report - Support for childcare and the early years
Published 26 Jul 2023
Paragraph 100
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Support for childcare and the early years All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend the Government expand the Family Hub model and commit to longer-term funding. We would like to see a national rollout of family hubs at the earliest possible opportunity. In particular, the £50m fund for ‘Parenting Support’ and the £28.7m ‘Home Learning Environment’ fund should be increased, along with the Best Start for Life funding to support infant feeding and parent infant relationships. Family Hubs should spread awareness of the childcare subsidy offers and increase take up. They should also provide specific, targeted support to families with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
From: Education Committee, Fifth Report - Support for childcare and the early years (HC 969), paragraph 100, 26 July 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 October 2023 (deadline 26 September 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's report and says it is "in full agreement" on the value of childcare and early education, agreeing with some recommendations and declining others, such as VAT and business rates changes.
- On childminders, it says amendments to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill, which it expects to "come into effect from autumn 2024" pending Royal Assent, will raise the number who can work together from 3 to 4 and allow work on non-domestic premises.
- On business rates and VAT, it states it "currently has no plans to make changes" to business rates support for early years businesses or the nursery VAT exemption.
- On local authority funding, it says it intends to increase the minimum pass-through rate from 95% to 97% "once the roll-out of the new entitlements is sufficiently progressed", and will keep the timing "under review".
- On the 30-hours reconfirmation period and funded hours for related childminders, it states there are "no plans at this time" to change eligibility checks and "currently no plans to change" the family-childminder position.