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Education

Volume 717: debated on Monday 27 June 2022

Children's Education Recovery and Childcare Costs

The following are extracts from the Opposition day debate on Children’s Education Recovery and Childcare Costs on 7 June 2022.

Of the £5 billion, what proportion will be swallowed up by the inflation in costs of energy for schools, rather than being spent on teachers?

The answer is none, because the £5 billion for recovery is on top of the additional funding that we are putting into schools: the £4 billion coming in for this academic year and the £7 billion over the course of the spending review period. The £5 billion is a targeted intervention specifically for recovery. I will break it down in a little more detail. It includes £1.5 billion for tutoring in schools and colleges, with which we will provide 100 million hours of tuition for five to 19-year-olds by 2024.

[Official Report, 7 June 2022, Vol. 715, c. 737.]

Letter of correction from the Minister for School Standards, the hon. Member for Worcester (Mr Walker):

An error has been identified in my response to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West).

The correct information should have been:

The £5 billion is a targeted intervention specifically for recovery. I will break it down in a little more detail. It includes £1.5 billion for tutoring in schools and colleges, with which we will provide up to 100 million hours of tuition for five to 19-year-olds by 2024.

We have also introduced tax-free childcare, which provides working parents with up to £2,000 of support to help with childcare costs for children under the age of 12. With universal credit, parents can claim back 85% of eligible childcare costs, compared with 70% under the old system.

[Official Report, 7 June 2022, Vol. 715, c. 745.]

Letter of correction from the Minister for School Standards:

An error has been identified in my speech.

The correct information should have been:

We have also introduced tax-free childcare, which provides working parents with up to £2,000 of support to help with childcare costs for children under the age of 12. With universal credit, parents can claim back up to 85% of eligible childcare costs, compared with 70% under the old system.