Free Childcare Expanded To Try To Help Parents Back To Work
The government's independent forecaster says that the move could let 60,000 more parents of young children work. In December 2022, the UK had 1.3 million unemployed individuals. In stages, the new care for parents will be implemented. From April 2024, working parents of two-year-olds will receive 15 free hours of childcare. From September 2024, children under the age of nine months will receive 15 free hours of childcare. From September 2025, all eligible children under the age of five will receive 30 free hours of childcare. These plans are part of a government effort to boost economic growth. The UK's childcare costs are among the highest in the world, and the government has been under pressure to offer more assistance to parents, including from some of its own MPs. The increasing expense of childcare has been broadly viewed as an obstruction for certain guardians to return to work or work all day. The CBI, a business group, has lobbied for the extension of free childcare, ...