Free childcare plan will help economy, says PM
RISHI Sunak said the Government was delivering on its childcare plan, as the first parents in England benefited from 15 hours of taxpayer-funded care for two-yearolds.
The Prime Minister said the plan would “build a brighter future for families and help to grow our economy”, but Labour has said that families will struggle to access places. Officials said the number of parents taking up places will initially be in the thousands but that is expected to grow by tens of thousands over the coming weeks.
The policy, which came into effect on Monday, is the first phase of a plan to expand funded childcare for working parents.
The offer will be extended to working parents of all children older than nine months from September this year, before the full rollout of 30 hours a week to all eligible families a year later.
The Government is confident the childcare sector is ready to deliver the offer and make sure parents have the childcare they need. But Labour pointed to an analysis of Ofsted data that suggests the number of childcare places fell by more than 1,000 between March and December last year, ahead of the anticipated increase in demand for places.
The Prime Minister said: “Last year we promised the biggest ever expansion in childcare provision this country has ever seen, and today we are delivering on our plan with 15 hours of free childcare for parents with two-year-olds. We want to give working families the peace of mind that they will be supported and our full expansion will save parents £6,900 a year, helping to build a brighter future for families and help to grow our economy.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the Government was “on track for more than 150,000 children to take up governmentfunded places”.
She added: “Support with childcare costs has an enormous ripple effect, freeing up parents to increase their hours at work and put more money in their pockets, or giving them the security to try out a new career or passion. It also contributes to economic growth and opens up new career opportunities in a hugely rewarding sector.”