The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential effect of the tax-free childcare scheme on childcare prices; and if he will make a statement.
Nicky Morgan
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer that I gave on 25 March 2014, Official Report, column c152W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.22 of Delivering Tax-free childcare: the Government’s response to the consultation on design and operation, when the decision to make National Savings and Investments HM Revenue and Customs’ delivery partner for tax-free childcare was made.
Nicky Morgan
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer that I gave on 18 June 2014, Official Report, column c625W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 674W, on children: day care, what the cost to the public purse was of the report prepared by Economic Insight for his Department.
Nicky Morgan
The cost of the Economic Insight report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295442/transparency_spend_over_25k_february_2014.csv/preview
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what date he plans to publish the consultation referred to by the Minister of State for Health in his Department’s announcement entitled Government Response to Tobacco Standardised Packaging Review, published in April 2014.
Jane Ellison
The consultation could not be published in the period leading up to the European and local elections. It is now being finalised and will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what details parents will be required to provide for the quarterly reconfirmation process for tax-free childcare; what measures will be in place to ensure that parents are reminded about the deadline for quarterly reconfirmation; and what provisions he will put in place in the event that parents fail to provide the necessary details for (a) one quarter and (b) more than one quarter.
Nicky Morgan
Details on the Tax-Free Childcare reconfirmation process were included in the Government’s Consultation Response published on 18th March 2014, which set out how reconfirmation will enable a smooth customer journey whilst protecting the scheme from error and fraud.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the revised plans for the roll-out of universal credit announced on 5 December 2013, what estimate he has made of the number of families which will be eligible for support for childcare through universal credit in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18 and (d) 2018-19.
Steve Webb
I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the member for Wirral West (Esther McVey) to the hon. Member for Leeds West, Rachel Reeves, Official Report, 11 June 2014, column 174W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of childcare in the UK for a child aged (a) two and under, (b) three to four and (c) five and over in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
I refer the honourable member to the answer given by the Hon. Edward Timpson MP on 17 June 2014 c538W. This points the honourable member to, amongst other sources, the Family and Childcare Trust Annual Cost Survey for 2014 and sets out the action the Government is taking to support families.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) National Savings and Investments staff will be employed administering tax-free childcare in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, (iii) 2017-18 and (iv) 2018-19.
Nicky Morgan
On the 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of childcare accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of childcare accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what performance indicators he has agreed with National Savings and Investments (NS&I) on the delivery of tax-free childcare; how often NS&I will be benchmarked against such indicators; how often the results of this benchmarking will be made available; what penalties have been agreed for poor performance against these indicators; and if he will make a statement.
Nicky Morgan
On the 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of childcare accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of childcare accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2014-06-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost was of the report entitled, Evaluating alternative market models for Tax-Free Childcare vouchers, prepared by Economic Insight for his Department; what assessment he made of this report’s findings and recommendations; and whether these recommendations informed the operation and design of his Department’s policy on tax-free childcare.
Nicky Morgan
Economic Insight were asked to consider whether there are any reasons why a private sector competitive market for childcare accounts might not function well. It compared it to a closed model in which there is competition to select a limited number of private sector childcare account providers. It concluded that there were no reasons why a competitive market could not function effectively as parents would be able to assess the differences between the offers and choose accordingly.
On the 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of childcare accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of childcare accounts.