Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing to give evidence to Committee
The Education Committee will question Claire Coutinho, Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing in the fifth and final session of its inquiry into the support for childcare and the early years.
Meeting details
The Spring Budget contained childcare reforms aimed at supporting parents struggling with high costs and encouraging parents to rejoin into the workforce. The Committee’s questions will likely focus on the adequacy of these new funding arrangements, concerns about the changes to those on universal credit, and support for parents who choose to stay at home. MPs could also ask about how the Department for Education plans to tackle the lack of awareness and misunderstanding of tax-free childcare among parents.
The cross-party Committee may focus on why private childcare settings are made to pay business rates and, unlike maintained providers, cannot claim back VAT. The Committee has heard evidence that changes to this could ease the financial pressures the sector is facing, and support pay rises to staff, reducing the staffing ‘crisis’. MPs are also likely to focus on this recruitment and retention issue amongst the early years workforce, including reductions in the number of childminders and the limited opportunities for career progression.
Previous witnesses raised concerns to the Committee about support for children with Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and delays in early identification and intervention due to long waits for assessments. Early identification is key to providing support for children with SEND, and MPs will likely ask about what measures the Department is taking to improve this process. Additionally, there may be questions on access to childcare for disabled children and SEND Funding for providers.