Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of offering only “pathetic” changes to childcare in a bid to bring down costs for parents and boost availability.
A consultation will look at increasing the number of children that can be looked after by each staff member – with proposals to change staff-to-child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds.
The government had estimated that the changes could potentially save parents £40 a month, based on a family paying £265 a week for a child under two.
