Wales' First Minister has repeatedly refused to commit to matching the level of childcare support in England. In his budget last week, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged to offer 30 hours of free childcare to working parents of all children over the age of nine months in England. See more detail on that here.
The Welsh Government will receive money because of the policy in England through the Barnett formula but it is up to the Welsh Government how this money is allocated. Welsh Labour's deal with Plaid in the Senedd in 2021 had included a pledge to extend free childcare here to all two year olds but this has not yet been fulfilled yet and will not benefit parents of children under the age of two.
