Who will be eligible for extended free child care and when will it start?

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The Chancellor has announced 30 hours of free childcare for all children under 5 from when maternity care ends, if applicable.

Jeremy Hunt told the Commons: 'Today I am announcing that in eligible households where all adults work at least 16 hours, we will introduce 30 hours of free childcare, not just for children aged three and four, but for each child over nine months.< /p>

“The 30-hour offer will now start from the end of maternity or paternity leave. is a package worth an average of £6,500 a year for a family with a two-year-old child using 35 hours of childcare each week and cuts their childcare costs by almost 60%. this is a reform of such magnitude, we will introduce it in stages to ensure sufficient supply in the market.

" Parents working with two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free care from April 2024, helping around half a million parents.

“From September 2024, these 15 hours will be extended to all children from 9 months, meaning a total of nearly one million parents will be eligible. And from September 2025, every working parent under the age of 5 will have access to 30 hours of free childcare per week."

Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) , Paul Johnson, tweeted: 9 months is really a great extension of the welfare state.

" (Probably) about double the cost of childcare.< /p>

“We've been moving in this direction for a good 20 years. This is a new phase of the welfare state that is finally coming to an end.

But who will benefit from this £4 billion move?

Currently, all children aged 3 and 4 are entitled to a free part-time nursery education place for 15 hours per week, 38 weeks per year. They are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare if both parents earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage, which means the vast majority of working families are eligible, although wealthier (those earning over £100,000 are not eligible).

The new scheme will offer 30 hours a week to parents of one- and two-year-olds and boost funding by £288m pounds sterling by 2024-25 for the existing program...