Hunt hands parents 30 hours of free childcare
Chancellor to announce £4bn boost to programme so that it will now cover children aged one and two
‘We would like to help everyone. It’s expensive. You can’t always do everything at once’
JEREMY HUNT is set to use today’s Budget to announce an expansion of free childcare to cover one- and twoyear-olds in England.
It is expected that parents of children aged one and two will be able to access 30 hours a week of free care, under a policy estimated to cost £4 billion.
Mr Hunt is also set to increase funding for the existing programme of free childcare for three-year-olds. All threeand four-year-olds are currently entitled to a free part-time nursery education place for 15 hours a week, 38 weeks a year, regardless of how much their families earn.
They qualify for 30 hours of free childcare if both parents earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at the national living wage.
The expansion to one- and two-yearolds is part of the Chancellor’s plan to get more people back into the labour market.
He is also planning to increase the hourly rate paid to childcare providers by the Government to deliver their existing 30-hours weekly entitlement.
And he will give local authorities funding to start setting up wraparound childcare provision in schools, starting in September 2024.
As part of the package of measures, Mr Hunt is expected to bring in changes to the staff-to-child ratios for two-yearolds in childcare.
At present, each carer can look after only four children, but that is set to rise to five – in line with Scotland – in an attempt to make childcare cheaper. One Whitehall source told the Guardian
they believed that Mr Hunt could set out a new free hours entitlement for parents of children aged between nine and 36 months, and an additional offer for one-year-olds from disadvantaged families.
A Treasury source said that new funding could be split by the Department of Education between the existing offer for three-year-olds and new provision for younger age groups.
British parents face among the highest childcare costs in the world, meaning that some parents, even those on middle incomes, conclude it is not worth taking on new or extra work.
On Sunday, Mr Hunt said childcare costs were stopping some parents from taking a job and the Government could make a “big difference” by helping to reduce them further, as part of a package of measures to break down barriers to entering the workforce.
Ministers have already announced plans, to be confirmed in the Budget, to pay childcare support to parents on universal credit up front, instead of in arrears.
The current £646-a-month per child cap on support is also expected to increase by several hundred pounds.
However, the Chancellor had downplayed the prospect of expanding free childcare provision now. “We would like to help everyone. It’s expensive to do it. You can’t always do everything at once,” he said.
Last night, a Labour MP said Mr Hunt’s expansion of free childcare would not work because £4 billion was not enough.
Stella Creasy said: “If you thought Help to Buy was a problem when it pushed demand with no supply and sent prices up, this is going to be just as bad.”
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “Understanding exactly how this announcement will translate into hourly funding rate changes, especially in light of the extension of the 30 hours offer to one- and two-year-olds, will be key to understanding the impact on the sector.”