Parents across the UK have said the Chancellor’s Budget announcement that includes a plan to extend funded childcare to children from nine months to two years old has arrived “too late”. Some also described losing thousands of pounds a year after hopes that many could return to work were quashed by a 2024 implementation date.
Jeremy Hunt confirmed in the House of Commons on Wednesday the Government will fund 15 hours of childcare a week for children over nine months until the age of two, starting in September 2024, effectively pushing out many who currently struggle with childcare costs and whose children will be too old to be eligible by the time the plans come into effect.
Tamer Shakran, who works as an assistant branch manager at a roofing supplier in Basingstoke, said he and his partner currently spend £1,200 each month on four days of nursery a week for their daughter, who is nearly two.
