Member

I turn to new childcare entitlements. In September, working parents of children aged nine months and above were able to access 15 hours per week of Government-funded early education for the first time. I can confirm that over 320,000 additional children are now accessing the new entitlement. Delivering the scheme has not been without difficulty and owes much to the collaboration between local authorities, providers and the work of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State, who has made ensuring the rollout a priority. At the same time, we are helping the sector to deliver the necessary places for September 2025. This final, more challenging phase of the rollout will increase the funded childcare entitlement of working parents to 30 hours per week.