HC Deb 20 October 2003 vol 411 cc432-4W
Vera Baird

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to make child care more affordable. [132380]

Margaret Hodge

The Government recognises that making child care affordable is a key challenge for the National Childcare Strategy and has made a substantial investment to achieve this. We have funded a substantial expansion in child care provision in the public, private and voluntary sectors, with a wide variety of types of child care—nurseries, child minders, before and after school provision and increasingly delivered alongside early education and other family services—to ensure diversity and choice for parents and to provide better services for children.

Working parents, subject to the level of their income, may receive support through the child care element of the Working Tax Credit (WTC). Tax credits are rightly targeted at lower and middle income families who may use a range of registered or approved child care. The child care element of the Working Tax Credit provides for up to 70 per cent. of costs of eligible child care. It can pay up to £94.50 a week for one child (where the childcare cost is £135), and up to £140 a week for two or more children (where the cost is £200).

No Government has provided the kind of direct support for the costs of child care that is delivered by the child care element of the Working Tax Credit. Over £650 million a year is now spent on supporting parents with child care costs.

Families are further supported through early education places, which can be used to off-set the cost of child care. As a result of our policies, all four year olds are able to access a free, good quality, part-time early education place. From April 2004, six months ahead of the original target. this will be extended to all three year olds. Currently 88 per cent. of three year olds are able to benefit from some level of free provision.

Support is also available through various grants and access funds for parents studying further and higher education, for participants on the New Deals and those receiving Job Seekers' allowance.

Vera Baird

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of childcare places in Redcar. [132381]

Margaret Hodge

The local authority area of Redcar and Cleveland is planning to create an additional 360 childcare places in 2003–04 bringing their total stock of childcare places to approximately 3100 by April 2004. This will represent some 13 places for every 100 children aged 0–14 in the area compared with an estimated national average by 2004 of 15 places for every 100 children.

To help meet the national target for a further 250,000 new childcare places by March 2006 Redcar and Cleveland have been allocated a target to create 598 new childcare places in 2004–06. The local authority has written to confirm acceptance of this target and the funds being made available to support this growth.

Vera Baird

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the level of provision of workplace childcare in Redcar. [132421]

Margaret Hodge

[holding answer 16 October 2003]: I understand that there are currently no workplace nurseries in Redcar.

The Government provides tax and National Insurance exemptions to encourage employers to provide workplace nurseries.

We are currently reviewing the tax and National Insurance treatment of employer-supported childcare. Our proposals offer improvements to give a better incentive to employers to support a wider range of good quality childcare provision and will benefit a greater number of employees, especially those working for smaller employers who do not have workplace nurseries.