New Childcare Bill to double free places from 2017

By The Press Association27th May 2015News EnglandChildcare, Childcare Bill, News England, Queens Speech

The Conservatives’ pre-election pledge to double free childcare for young children is confirmed in today’s Queen’s Speech.

Under a new Childcare Bill, working parents in England will be entitled to 30 hours of free care and early years education for three and four-year-olds for 38 weeks a year – the length of the school year.

The move, which was a key plank of the Tories’ general election manifesto, will help support hard-working families with the costs of childcare and support mums and dads in work, the Government said.

Local councils will also be required to publish information about childcare in their area, and other services available that may benefit local families.

Currently, three and four-year-olds in England, along with the poorest two-year-olds, are entitled to 15 free hours of nursery or childcare each week of the school year.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: “While plans to improve the availability of childcare are of course positive in theory, they unfortunately remain unlikely to succeed in practice given that, to date, the Government has done so little to address concerns that the free childcare scheme is severely underfunded.

“Independent research into the current offer commissioned by the Alliance last year showed that childcare providers are already facing funding shortfalls of around 20%. As a result, many are being forced to increase the cost of paid-for hours, resulting in higher childcare costs for parents. Extending the free childcare offer without first addressing these funding gaps will only exacerbate this problem further.”

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said: “The promise of 30 hours’ free childcare per week from 2017 is good news for working parents and their children. NDNA is looking forward to working closely with the Government and the childcare sector to meet the challenges that this expansion will bring and offer practical, workable solutions.

“It is incredibly important that nursery providers are funded properly to make these plans sustainable. NDNA is keen to work with the Childcare Minister, Sam Gyimah, on a full funding review, as promised before the election, to secure a meaningful increase in funding for childcare providers. It is vital that the sector is fully engaged with this process to ensure that this reform will work on the frontline and be sustainable.”