Contributions
462 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsWe have a survey of 6,000 parents and 9,000 providers to set our rates based on exactly what they are paying. The hon. Lady must have missed my saying that our rate for under-twos…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsMy hon. Friend is absolutely right: we inherited some families being able to get 12.5 hours of childcare. Thanks to the Government’s expansion, they will now be able to get 30…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsI thank my hon. Friend for raising some important issues. He is right that certainty and increasing those rates have been some of the most important things that the sector has…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsIn September we put in more than £200 million to increase rates, and in April we have put in a further £400 million to increase rates, in part to help providers meet the costs of…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsThe shadow spokesperson says it is not her job. With a general election later this year, it is not her job to have a plan. Staffing had gone up by 13,000 people before we even…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsI have seen those figures. Many of these surveys are based on a measure of confidence taken at some point before the roll-out; all I can tell the hon. Gentleman is that we worked…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsWell, I did not hear a plan there, Madam Deputy Speaker.23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsWith permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the successful first stage of the largest ever expansion of childcare in England’s history, achieved by this Government.…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsThe precise parameters for that are set by the Treasury, but we would like more people to claim that tax-free childcare, because many people could claim it but do not do so at…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the things that might happen with this expansion is that parents will for the first time have childcare for their two-year-olds.…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsThat sounds like typical behaviour from a Lib-Dem council. At the end of last year, we allocated £100 million in capital funding—every local authority got some of it—precisely to…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsMy hon. Friend is right. Our key focus is on ensuring that places and staff are available in every area of the country, as we have shown in April with 200,000 benefiting from the…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsYes, I will. The projections for the years 2025-26 and 2026-27 are based partly on economic conditions at the time—a few factors going into them will determine those rates—but I…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsI am delighted to hear that Rupert has been able to take advantage of the offer. My hon. Friend is right that in different parts of the country we see different rates required by…23 Apr 2024HANSARD Childcare EntitlementsI do not think the hon. Lady has listened to the content of any of the answers I have given. We work with every local authority in the country. Local authorities have a statutory…23 Apr 2024HANSARDEarly Years Foundation Stage Safeguarding and Experience Based Routes: UpdateGovernment are delivering a brighter future for Britain, with long-term economic security and opportunity: where hard work is always rewarded; where ambition and aspiration are…22 Apr 2024HANSARDChildminders: September Childcare Entitlement ExpansionThis Government are delivering a brighter future for Britain, with long-term economic security and opportunity: where hard work is always rewarded; where ambition and aspiration…15 Mar 2024HANSARDSEND ProvisionMy hon. Friend makes an excellent point. The amount being spent on transport rather than provision is too high. The solution is both to create more provision and to meet…14 Mar 2024HANSARDSEND ProvisionI thank my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) for opening this important debate. I know how important it is to him that our investment in education gives children…14 Mar 2024HANSARDSEND ProvisionI agree that it is a distraction. This policy is a distraction from Labour’s having no plan for any area of education—schools, apprenticeships, universities or childcare. It is a…14 Mar 2024