A huge £4bn expansion of free childcare for one and two-year-olds is expected to be announced in today's Budget.
First reported in The Guardian, Jeremy Hunt is expected to make the pledge as part of a wider move to help encourage more people into work.
If confirmed today, the plan would provide an extra 30 hours a week of free childcare to parents of one and two-year-olds and increase funding for the existing programme of free childcare that exists for three-year-olds to £288m by 2024-25.
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Mr Hunt intends to increase the hourly rate paid to childcare providers by the government to deliver the 30 hours weekly entitlement, according to The Guardian.
Childcare costs in the UK are among the highest in the world and the issue looks set to form a key battleground in the run up to the next General Election. The government has been under pressure to provide more help for parents - including from Tory MPs.
The rising cost of childcare has been widely seen as a deterrent for some parents to go back to work or work full time.
If confirmed, the move will undoubtedly be one of the biggest of Mr Hunt's so-called 'Back to Work' budget as he tries to encourage people back into employment in a bid to tackle sluggish economic growth.
The Chancellor's drive to get hundreds of thousands more people into work will focus on disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, parents, the over-50s and people currently claiming universal credit.
The government will also confirm that energy bill support will continue at its current levels for three more months. The government is currently limiting bills for a typical household to £2,500 a year but this had been due to rise to £3,000 on April 1.
The government plans to "bridge the gap" until falling energy bills fall below the level of the cap. By the time the EPG extension comes to an end, analysts at Cornwall Insight expect energy bills will fall below £2,500 anyway, at which point bills should start to reduce.
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