The Government’s promise of an expansion in state-funded childcare has triggered major concern within the sector as it faces funding shortages, a consequent mass exodus of staff, and the resulting closure of nurseries across the UK.
Jeremy Hunt made this pledge alongside a range of measures aimed at boosting economic growth in Wednesday’s Spring Budget speech. He promised up to 30 hours a week of free childcare for eligible households in England with children as young as nine months, instead of three and four-year-olds under the current policy. The phased plan aimed at removing barriers to work, which will be fully introduced by September 2025, will be worth up to £6,500 a year for working families.
