In moving Amendment 24, I will speak also to Amendment 25. I have three things to say, as there are three areas that these amendments cover.
First, we know that capital funding is a big issue for the National Association of Head Teachers in particular. The association is concerned that, with growing numbers in the primary phase and the early years phase per se, there will be inadequate buildings expansion to address the additional 15 hours’ free childcare. Local government associations are also pressing the Government to commit to a capital fund for the expansion of buildings to ensure that the childcare can be accommodated. That is one reason why we tabled the amendment: to ensure that the Minister considers this issue when he makes these decisions.
6.45 pm
Secondly, I want to focus on children in deprived areas. I know that the Government will respond by saying that there is an early years pupil premium. Indeed there is. It is worth £300 a year. That is 25p for
every hour that a child is in full-time childcare. This is not really sufficient to make a significant difference to those children. On top of that, increasingly, the direct schools grant is not focusing on deprivation factors. Together, those two elements have resulted in us tabling the amendment, in order to draw the Government’s attention to the importance of considering this issue as a matter of urgency when funding decisions are made.
My final point, raised earlier in the debate, is about cross-subsidisation. I will repeat the figures I was given—on Facebook, as it happens. Some parents are paying a rate of £5 an hour in the free element of their childcare. That rises to £8.53 when parents are paying for childcare outside the free hours. That shows the difference between the cost applied to free childcare and the figure that the provider needs in order to have a sustainable business. For those reasons, I have tabled these two amendments. I beg to move.