To ask the Minister of Education to detail any assessment his Department has made of whether recent childcare subsidy uplifts have improved the financial viability of providers, as opposed to being absorbed by rising operating costs.

The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) is designed to reduce the net cost of childcare for families. It is not intended to improve the financial viability of providers. The 15% subsidy is applied directly to parents’ bills and has remained unchanged since the scheme began in September 2024; no uplifts have been made to this rate.

In April 2025, the maximum subsidy cap was uplifted by 10%, from £167 to £184 per child per month. This was to ensure that families whose childcare costs were close to the cap continued to receive the full 15% subsidy in the context of expected price increases. This adjustment benefitted parents only and did not alter the subsidy rate.

At the same time, a separate uplift was applied to the administrative fee paid to providers. This payment is intended solely to offset the costs of administering NICSS, such as onboarding children, invoicing claims and verification. It is not designed to address wider operational cost pressures or to improve the financial viability of providers.