My Lords, I thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Jones and Lady Pinnock, for their very helpful and clear contributions. As I explained earlier, the Government have attempted to set out clearly which children will be eligible for the new entitlement. We are making provision to ensure that parents who are temporarily away from the workplace as a result of other vital duties, such as caring for a new baby or adopted child, will be able to continue to receive their free place, reducing any disruption that short-term absences could cause to providers, and most importantly to the children.
The Government’s commitment is clear. I am afraid that this provision is for working parents of three or four year-olds and that is the entitlement that we intend to keep. The noble Baroness, Lady Jones, asks why we will not define eligibility in primary legislation. As I explained, the details are technical and the nomenclature of the various underlying benefits and allowances may change. By putting this level of detail in regulations, we will be better able to amend eligibility to ensure that we continue to provide places to those whom we want to benefit. We provided substantial details of our intentions in our recent policy statement, which I have put on record in the House today. The House will have the opportunity to debate the detail of the regulations, which will be affirmative.