To ask the Minister of Education whether any assessment has been made of the impact of childcare costs on parents’ ability to increase their working hours or progress in employment.

My Department has commissioned research to inform the Early Learning and Childcare Strategy. The Northern Ireland Childcare Survey, commissioned by my Department and delivered by NISRA in 2025, found that 58% of households reported that the work, education or training decisions of a parent or guardian had changed as a result of childcare needs. Of those households, 60% said that the cost of childcare was a factor in those decisions. The most common change was a reduction in working hours (69%). Furthermore, if childcare was not a consideration, 55% of households said they would increase their working hours and 38% would seek a promotion.

Additionally, the independent Review of Childcare Services in Northern Ireland, published in 2023, found that a lack of access to formal childcare had prevented 49% of respondents from increasing their working hours, 35% from undertaking additional overtime, 32% from enrolling on an education or training course and 31% from accessing or sustaining full-time employment.

Separately, research undertaken for the Committee for the Economy by the Assembly Research and Information Service in 2024 asserted that the high cost of formal childcare in Northern Ireland affects the ability of parents to work. This is consistent with the findings from research commissioned by my Department, which indicate that childcare costs can be a significant barrier to employment, increased working hours, education and training opportunities, and career progression.

My Department will continue to build the evidence base through implementation of the Early Learning and Childcare Strategy, including future iterations of the Childcare Survey, subject to the availability of funding.