A number of key announcements were made in Jeremy Hunt's Budget on Wednesday - but how will they affect families with children?
The Chancellor has promised up to 30 hours a week of free childcare for working parents in England with children as young as nine months. He hopes the phased policy, which will be fully introduced by September 2025, will encourage more parents to return to work.
Here is a round-up of the main changes impacting families. We have included information on who exactly will get free childcare and from when, and what help parents on Universal Credit will be given.
Read More: All the Child Benefit changes you must report to HMRC or risk missing out on payments
Who will get free childcare?
Under the current system, parents of three and four-year-olds in England are eligible for 15 hours of free childcare per week, and working parents with children in the same age group are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare. Now all eligible households in England with children as young as nine months - where all adults are working at least 16 hours a week - will be entitled to 30 hours a week of free childcare.
When can parents access the free childcare?
The offer of free childcare will be available to working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024, covering around half-a-million parents, but initially it will be limited to 15 hours. From September 2024, the 15-hour offer will be extended to children from nine months, which the Government has said will help nearly a million parents. The full 30-hour offer to working parents of children under five will come in from September 2025.
What funding has been announced to improve childcare?
The Government will provide £4.1b by 2027-28 to expand the 30 hours a week of free childcare for working parents of younger children in England. Ministers will also provide £204m in 2023-24, increasing to £288m in 2024-25, to raise the hourly funding rate paid to childcare providers in England to deliver the existing free hours offer.
The Chancellor said the Government will pilot incentive payments of £600 for childminders joining the profession, and £1,200 if they join through an agency. Mr Hunt said the Government will fund schools and local authorities to increase the supply of wraparound care so all school-age parents can drop their children off between 8am and 6pm.
He said the Government aims for all schools to start to offer a wraparound offer, either on their own or in partnership with other schools by September 2026. The Treasury is understood to have acknowledged that the Government plan to provide £289m for schools and local councils to pilot options for wraparound childcare will take time.
What are the plans for ratios in early years settings?
The Government will change minimum staff-to-child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds in England but the Chancellor said the change will be "optional".
How will parents on Universal Credit be given help with childcare?
Families on Universal Credit will receive childcare funding upfront, rather than in arrears, to help parents who struggle to afford upfront costs for childcare. The maximum Universal Credit childcare allowance - which has been frozen at £646-a-month per child for years - will increase to £951 for one child.
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