‘Hunt falls short of addressing challenges people are facing’
THE Welsh Government has issued its response to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget and addressed his pledge to offer 30 hours of free childcare to working parents of children over the age of nine months in England.
Wales is receiving an extra £180m as a consequence of the spending decisions across the border.
Wales’ Finance Minister Rebecca Evans condemned Mr Hunt’s statement budget statement saying it was a “less-than-bare minimum Budget”.
The same words were used on Twitter by First Minister Mark Drakeford who said the Chancellor had “fallen short in addressing the real challenges people are facing. He had the financial levers and capacity to provide comprehensive and meaningful support but chose not to meet the scale of the task ahead”.
But the Welsh Government stopped short of committing to offer the same level of support to working parents in Wales that the UK Government is going to introduce in England.
Mr Hunt is expanding England’s free childcare offer, which currently only applies to children aged over three before they start school. It will be rolled out to all children over nine months old if both their parents are in work. Mr Hunt said the change would reduce childcare costs by around 60%.
The Welsh Government will receive money because of the policy in England through the Barnett formula but it is up to the Welsh Government how this money is allocated. Welsh Labour’s deal with Plaid in the Senedd in 2021 had included a pledge to extend free childcare here to all two-year-olds but so far only small steps towards that have been taken by expanding Flying Start in less wealthy areas.
Ms Evans MS said in a statement following the budget: “The Chancellor today made some big and longterm commitments on childcare in England. We are already rolling-out a phased expansion of our childcare offer to two-year-olds as part of our Co-operation Agreement with Plaid
Cymru.
“We will consider how best to use the consequentials from this announcement as a Cabinet, to best meet the needs of people in Wales.”
The UK Government has also pledged to provide money to councils to increase supply of wraparound care so all parents of school-age children can drop their children off between 8am and 6pm. He said he hoped all schools will start to offer a wraparound offer, either on their own or in partnership with other schools, by September 2026. The Welsh Government did not address this in their statement.
The Welsh Government has been working on a similar plan in Wales, with trials taking place in schools to extend the school day here.
The Welsh Tories have called on the Welsh Government to pass on this money to delivering the same policy in Wales.
Welsh Conservative shadow minister for social services Gareth Davies MS said: “Parents in England will benefit from expanded childcare support and while this is welcome, I want the same for hardworking parents along the length and breadth of Wales.
“I am calling on the Labour government to allocate this new money to expand childcare in Wales, as opposed to letting these funds get sucked up into their ever-growing list of vanity projects.”
In her statement, Ms Evans criticised the Chancellor saying that he had made a series of deliberate choices to prioritise “petrol and potholes” over investment in public services, pay and economic growth.
She said: “Today we saw a less than bare minimum Budget, which misses the big picture, at a time when people’s financial situations are worsening. It fell short of providing meaningful support – there were sticking plasters when we needed significant action. Potholes and petrol took precedence over pay rises for teachers and NHS staff.
“Critical public services which we all rely on continue to face devastating cuts – there was no extra funding for health, social services or local government. The decision to maintain the energy price guarantee for a further three months will provide some comfort for people in this ongoing cost-of-living crisis and is something we have been consistently calling for.
“We have also been calling on the UK Government to make Universal Credit fairer and for energy companies to stop penalising people on prepayment meters. We have seen small steps in the right direction in these areas.”
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “The creation of a national childcare service offering 30 hours of high quality childcare from 12 months has been Plaid Cymru policy for some time and was a key election pledge for Plaid Cymru in 2021.
“Wales is on the front foot thanks to Plaid Cymru’s cooperation agreement where free childcare is already being expanded for all two year olds.
“We need full consequential funding as soon as possible to continue with the expansion that is already in place in Wales, ensuring that it’s a service that meets the needs of the people of Wales and delivers in all communities.”