Will the extended childcare scheme boost Tory fortunes?
Nurseries are warning that the £4bn scheme is underfunded and undeliverable. Can the Conservatives turn around ‘childcare chaos’ and deliver for parents ahead of the general election, asks Sean O’Grady
This week marks the start of the rollout of the government’s much-vaunted expansion of childcare, costing some £4bn a year. According to the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, “by the end of our rollout, this will save working parents on average £6,900 a year, helping 60,000 more people back into work”.
The prime minister has been busily touring classrooms and telling news crews that it’s a “positive and exciting moment”. At the moment, for working parents of three- and four-year-olds, 30 hours of childcare funded by the government is already available, and the expansion of the cover is being rolled out in these phases:
- 15 hours free childcare a week for two-year-olds from this month
- 15 hours free childcare for nine-month-olds from September 2024
- 30 hours free childcare for all under-fives from September 2025
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