Commentary on provisions of Act Section 1: Duty to secure 30 hours free childcare available for working parents
Section 1(1) imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that childcare is available free of charge for qualifying children of working parents for 30 hours in each of 38 weeks in any year, or for an equivalent period.
	Subsection (2) is concerned with eligibility for the free childcare entitlement under subsection
(1). It provides that a "qualifying child of working parents" is a young child:
who is under compulsory school age (as defined in section 8 of the Education Act 1996);
who is in England;
who is of a description specified in regulations;
in respect of whom any conditions relating to the parent of the child, or the parent's partner, are met; and
in respect of whom a declaration has been made that all the other eligibility requirements are satisfied.
	The intention is that regulations will specify that children will qualify for the free childcare entitlement under subsection (1) at the start of the school term following their third birthday. The conditions attaching to parents, and their partners, will include conditions relating to paid work. For these purposes, subsection (4) enables the Secretary of State to make regulations about when a person is to be regarded as another personʹs partner and what constitutes paid work. Subsection (4) also enables the Secretary of State to specify the circumstances in which a person is, or is not, to be regarded as in paid work. Regulations will, for example, specify that people temporarily away from the workplace on paid parental leave will be regarded as in work. Subsection (4) also enables the Secretary of State to set conditions to be met by a person making a declaration as to a child’s eligibility for the extended entitlement. For example, that the person making the declaration would need to be the person who is responsible for the child.
	Subsection (5) confers on HMRC the power to make declarations as to a child’s eligibility and carry out related functions.
	HMRC already has functions under the Childcare Payments Act 2014 in relation to the administration and operation of Tax-Free Childcare. The intention is that parents will be able to apply for both the extended entitlement and Tax-Free Childcare through a simple, joint application process. Subsection (5) gives HMRC the requisite power to verify a child’s eligibility for additional free childcare.
Subsection (6) provides that in the discharge of her duty, the Secretary of State will take into account the free of charge early years provision available under the duty on local authorities under section 7 of the Childcare Act 2006. Section 7 of the Childcare Act 2006 enables the Secretary of State to make regulations to describe the type and amount of free early years provision that local authorities must secure and the description of children to benefit from free early years provision. The Local Authority (Duty to Secure Early Years Provision Free of Charge) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2147) currently provide that 570 hours of childcare per year must be made available by a local authority for defined groups of two year olds and for all children from the beginning of the school term which starts on or after 1 September, 1 January or 1 April following their third birthday until they reach compulsory school age.
	Subsection (8) enables the Secretary of State to set out, in regulations, the circumstances in which a child will be considered to be in England for the purposes of the entitlement.