This Library Note provides background reading in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the Childcare Bill on 16 June 2015.
Childcare Bill [HL] (HL Bill 9 of 2015–16) (276KB PDF)
In England, all three- and four-year-old children, and disadvantaged two-year-old children who meet the eligibility criteria, are currently entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. The Childcare Bill would provide for an increase in the entitlement to free childcare to 30 hours a week (for 38 weeks of the year) to be made available to eligible working parents of three- and four-year-old children in England. The Bill would also require English local authorities to publish information about the provision of childcare, and other services or facilities which may be of benefit to parents or prospective parents, or children or young persons, in their local authority area. The Government has stated that the increased entitlement would be implemented for all working parents from September 2017, with trials being introduced for some families in September 2016.
Childcare Bill [HL] (HL Bill 9 of 2015–16) (276KB PDF)
The Creative Education Access Bill [HL] would introduce a minimum entitlement to creative and cultural education for pupils at state-funded schools in England. The bill would establish a minimum number of hours of creative learning per week and would require schools to take reasonable steps to develop partnerships with the creative sector.
![Creative Education Access Bill [HL]: HL Bill 17 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Culture-media-and-sport-568x426.png)
The Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames (Liberal Democrat). The bill would provide certain protections for cohabiting couples, for example in the event one of them dies. Its second reading is scheduled for 17 July 2026.
![Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL]: HL Bill 14 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Family-and-civil-law-568x426.png)
The government established a taskforce in July 2024 to develop a strategy to reduce child poverty in the UK. Published in December 2025, the strategy included a combination of previously implemented and new policies. While charities, think tanks and other groups generally welcomed the strategy, particularly the removal of the two-child universal credit limit and extension of free school meals, some argued for further reforms to the social security system.
