To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how local authorities are informed of households in their area in receipt of universal credit that include a child that is or is about to be two years’ old so that they can promote the free early years education entitlement for two-year-olds to qualifying households.
Answered on
15 January 2018
The department receives information from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on families who are potentially eligible for the entitlement to free early education for two-year olds, and passes relevant information to local authorities seven times a year. Local authorities may then use this to make direct contact with parents, to encourage and assist them to take up the offer. The information may also be used by local authorities to help with future capacity and sufficiency planning by providing a better understanding of the distribution of potentially eligible children.
The lists are intended to help local authorities to improve take up of the offer, but do not include every potentially eligible child. There are other means by which local authorities can identify eligible children and ensure high take up. The department is working closely with the DWP to ensure the accuracy of the information that is provided. Universal Credit data will be made available to the Department for Education in order to support this policy.