Extended free childcare rollout begins as Labour accuses govt of having a ‘pledge without a plan’
The government’s extended childcare policy is beginning today – but it starts amid warnings of a lack of funding and not enough staff to fulfil the pledge.
From today, eligible parents and carers of two-year-olds will be entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare per week.
It is the first part of a £8bn package – announced at the 2023 budget – that the government hopes will save “working parents” an average of £3,450 a year and help boost the workforce and the economy.
While welcomed by parents, it has already come under criticism from providers and the opposition.
Labour has highlighted Ofsted data suggesting more than 1,000 childcare places were lost between March and December 2023, despite the expected uptick in demand.
And the Early Years Alliance (EYA), which represents providers of childcare, says services will struggle and fees may need to go up.
The 1 April changes mark the start of a staggered rollout, with the plan being that working parents of all children nine months and over will get 15 hours of free childcare from September this year, rising to 30 hours a year later.
Labour’s attack included a so-called “dossier of childcare chaos”, which lays out concerns such as parents complaining of high costs, long waiting lists, and nurseries warning they could go bust.
The dossier from Labour said: “The Conservatives’ childcare pledge without a plan announced at the 2023 Budget is threatening to crash the childcare system just like the Conservatives crashed the economy.”
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “After 14 years of Tory failure, it will be Labour who get on with the job and finally deliver the much-needed childcare for parents.
“That is why we have commissioned respected former Ofsted Inspector Sir David Bell to lead a review on early education and childcare to guarantee early years entitlements for parents.
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“Only Labour will reform our childcare system and deliver the accessible, affordable early years education that will give children the best start in life.”
The commissioning of the review by Labour was seen by the Conservatives as an attempt to cancel the plans should Sir Keir Starmer’s party come to power.
‘We are not glorified babysitters’
At the Cornerstone Tots playgroup in Grimsby, mum-of-three Vicky Nunn welcomed the extra free childcare. Working long hours as a nurse, she says it “takes a weight off my mind that I can still work, being able to know that I can afford childcare and not have to drop shifts”.
But there are concerns that parents and carers pinning their hopes on benefiting from the new offers could be disappointed.
EYA chief executive Neil Leitch said there’s a lack of both spaces and staff.
“You have to value the sector, you have to recognise that we are not glorified babysitters,” he said.
The rising cost of living may also play a part.
At Grimsby’s community baby bank, they’ve seen an increase in the number of working families using their service.
Volunteer Leanne Hudson told Sky News: “Some families are going without eating themselves, just so the children can eat.”
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Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the government is on track to deliver the first phase of its roll-out to 150,000 working parents of two-year-olds.
The expansion of free childcare aims to take pressure off parents and providers, but there are concerns it might not get people back to work quite as quickly as the government hopes.
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Politics
Row over how many farms will be affected by inheritance tax policy – as PM doubles down ahead of farmers protest
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the “vast majority of farmers” will not be affected by changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) ahead of a protest outside parliament on Tuesday.
It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a 20% inheritance tax that will apply to farms worth more than £1m from April 2026, where they were previously exempt.
But the prime minister looked to quell fears as he resisted calls to change course.
Speaking from the G20 summit in Brazil, he said: “If you take a typical case of a couple wanting to pass a family farm down to one of their children, which would be a very typical example, with all of the thresholds in place, that’s £3m before any inheritance tax is paid.”
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The comments come as thousands of farmers, including celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson, are due to descend on Whitehall on Tuesday to protest the change.
And 1,800 more will take part in a “mass lobby” where members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) will meet their MPs in parliament to urge them to ask Ms Reeves to reconsider the policy.
Speaking to broadcasters, Sir Keir insisted the government is supportive of farmers, pointing to a £5bn investment announced for them in the budget.
He said: “I’m confident that the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected at all by that aspect of the budget.
“They will be affected by the £5bn that we’re putting into farming. And I’m very happy to work with farmers on that.”
Sir Keir’s spokesman made a similar argument earlier on Monday, saying the government expects 73% of farms to not be affected by the change.
Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Secretary Steve Reed said only about 500 out of the UK’s 209,000 farms would be affected, according to Treasury calculations.
However, that number has been questioned by several farming groups and the Conservatives.
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The NFU said the real number is about two-thirds, with its president Tom Bradshaw calling the government’s figures “misleading” and accusing it of not understanding the sector.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the policy could affect 70,000 farms.
Conservative shadow farming minister Robbie Moore accused the government last week of “regurgitating” figures that represent “past claimants of agricultural property relief, not combined with business property relief” because he said the Treasury does not have that data.
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Agricultural property relief (APR) currently provides farmers 100% relief from paying inheritance tax on agricultural land or pasture used for rearing livestock or fish, and can include woodland and buildings, such as farmhouses, if they are necessary for that land to function.
Farmers can also claim business property relief (BPR), providing 50% or 100% relief on assets used by a trading business, which for farmers could include land, buildings, plant or machinery used by the business, farm shops and holiday cottages.
APR and BPR can often apply to the same asset, especially farmed land, but APR should be the priority, however BPR can be claimed in addition if APR does not cover the full value (e.g. if the land has development value above its agricultural value).
APR and BPR can apply to farmland, which the Conservatives say has been overlooked by the Treasury in compiling its impact figures. File pic: iStock
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Mr Moore said the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Treasury have disagreed on how many farms will be impacted “by as much as 40%” due to the lack of data on farmers using BPR.
Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said last week1,400 farmers in Cumbria, where he is an MP, will be affected and will not be able to afford to pay the tax as many are on less than the minimum wage despite being asset rich.
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