Parents, Childcare and Employment (PaCE)

31 March 2022

Dear

ATISN 16122 PaCE

Thank you for your request which I received on 28 February 2022.  You asked for:

• Information concerning what areas of Merthyr Tydfil meet the criteria of PaCE.

• What engagement or awareness raising has taken place around PaCE within Merthyr in the last 3 years with both professionals and families?

• How many families have engaged in PaCE over the last 3 years?

• How much money through PaCE has supported childcare in Merthyr for the last 3 years?

Our response

• The Welsh Government’s Communities for Work and Communities for Work Plus employability programmes operate in Merthyr Tydfil.  These programme cover the great majority of areas in the County and provide support for those with multiple barriers to employment, including childcare, to move closer to, or into employment.

• In Merthyr Tydfil, childcare support for parents who wish to move into employment or undertake training is also available through Bridges into Work, Inspire 2 Work, Working Skills for Adults2, Nurture, Equip and Thrive (NET) and Aspire Shared Apprenticeship Programme.

• Due to the extensive coverage of these other programmes, PaCE does not formally operate in Merthyr Tydfil as PaCE aims to complement and not duplicate, provision already available in each Local Authority area.  For this reason, there has been no engagement or awareness raising activity within Merthyr in the last three years. The programme has, however, supported a small number of applications for childcare support when this has not been available through other employability programmes (see below).

• In order to be eligible for PaCE support, childcare must be the main barrier to education, employment or training and you must be:

• An economically inactive parent aged 25 and over,
• Or a parent aged between 16 and 24,
• Not engaged in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) at the time of joining the programme.

• In the last three years PaCE has supported three families in Merthyr with, a total childcare cost of £2,509.

On 2 March 2022 the Welsh Government announced their intentions to extend the Childcare Offer scheme to include parents who are in education and training to also benefit from the additional hours of funded childcare it provides.

Further information on this scheme can be found here:

https://gov.wales/childcare-3-and-4-year-olds

Next steps

If you are dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s handling of your request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this response.  Requests for an internal review should be addressed to the Welsh Government’s Freedom of Information Officer at:

Information Rights Unit, 
Welsh Government,
Cathays Park, 
Cardiff, 
CF10 3NQ 

or Email: Freedom.ofinformation@gov.wales

Please remember to quote the ATISN reference number above.   

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:  Information Commissioner’s Office,

Wycliffe House, 
Water Lane, 
Wilmslow, 
Cheshire, 
SK9 5AF.

However, please note that the Commissioner will not normally investigate a complaint until it has been through our own internal review process.

Yours sincerely