Really impressed with the budget

[Fullrecoveryispossible]

I’ll give it to the chancellor. He delivered a bloody good budget today. Childcare reform (including increasing rates paid to providers by 30%) and 30 hours free for 1&2 year olds. Uk has avoided recession despite a global pandemic and Ukrainian war, more money on occupational health, plan to get more people into work

3.48 From April 2024, working parents of 2 year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week, benefiting parents of up to 285,000 children.

This will be extended to working parents of 9 month to 2 year-olds from September 2024, benefiting parents of up to 640,000 children.

From September 2025, all eligible working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years will be able to access 30 free hours per week.

3.49 The government is also substantially uplifting the hourly funding rate paid to providers, to deliver the existing free hours offers in England. This will help providers to manage cost pressures, and develop the necessary capacity to deliver the new free hours offers, as well as raising the quality of provision. The government will provide £204 million in 2023-24, paid from September 2023, and £288 million in 2024-25.

3.50 To increase flexibility for providers and the availability of childcare provision for parents, the government will proceed with changing staff-to-child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for 2 year-olds in England, to align with Scotland and other countries. This change will come into force from September 2023, subject to parliamentary procedure.
The government will also increase choice and affordability for parents, by taking action to increase the number of childminders. The government will provide start-up grants for new childminders, including those who register with a childminder agency.

fROM BUDGET DOCUYMENT:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2023

Yep, agree. I have twins and am stuffed by this. Still paying over £40k a year for full time nursery places. These reforms don't help me and other parents who are struggling now at all

I think the baby would have to be born Christmas 2024 to benefit from the full funding as doesn’t this kick in from September 2025?

Yes exactly. Load of absolute rubbish! They could’ve promised everyone 50k as a present - they know they won’t have to deliver any of it so imo it’s meaningless

You will be able to claim the 15 hours from the term AFTER your baby turns 9 months. So if your baby is 9 months in December you would qualify for the 15 hours childcare from the term after that. Which would be spring term from January. If they’re 9 months after the spring term it would be summer term starting April.

That is if the rules stay the same as they are now.

The subsidised 15 hours generally work out to around 10 hours a week if you use full time childcare rather than a term nursery, as it’s 15 hours over 39 weeks.

What happened to that manifesto promise about help with care home fees?

Babies born December 2024 onwards will benefit from the full 30 hours from 9 months. Baby turns 9 months in August, and get funding from September 2025

I have a just-turned 2 yo and could really use the help with childcare costs.

But I see that these changes will come into effect after the next general election - i.e. NEVER.

But there's £££££ Billions right now for 'beefing up the military'. What a joke!

Anyone impressed by this government needs their head examined.

I have a 5 year old already in breakfast and after school club, and a 3 year old who already gets the 30 hours. So I knew there wouldn't be much in the budget to change those situations. But there is very very little in there which will help us with the cost of living. DH and I both work full time, both in the basic rate tax bracket, don't really drink, don't smoke, I wfh so don't use a lot of fuel in the car. Feel like there will be a lot of people like me looking at that budget and thinking it's going to make no difference at all to the very tough spot we find ourselves in with gas and electric costs, higher mortgage payments etc.

For people with no kids, there is even less. I think the defence spending amount is shocking, when the NHS, schools, Courts, Public services in general, are struggling so much.

I'm also concerned about the slip in of helping disabled people find work without their benefits stopping.....that doesn't sound very Conservative Govt to me.
Disabled people are bashed and abused on every thread going and now the chancellor is saying oh yes they can work from home through zoom, and not lose their financial safety net.(looks to be work related activity group of UC or ESA)

Seems like a trick to me. Forced into work, which someone who is on disability benefits can't do repeatedly, on time, every day without making their health situation worse- you know the reason why they aren't working. Then the "safety net" will be withdrawn as you've proved you are fit to work - except you aren't. So you have to give it up, and now have no money but the government have washed their hands of you.

Oh for goodness sake. Some people are never happy.

@ShirleyPhallus a bit misleading to use the phrase 'every single child' when it doesn't apply to the children of high earners isn't it?!

Some holiday club provision to enable me to work all year would have been nice. But can't have it all (we have none locally. They closed for covid and never reopened)

Don't like the overall "unemployed women are bad for the economy" vibes - I get what they're saying but I'm worried about a new stigma for those who are struggling to find employment.

I'm actively seeking work (I love working!) but days go by without a suitable role to apply for. When there is a role to apply for there's 300 applicants!

(I know, it's a regional thing!)

A very crafty move as it possibly won't be on their watch

@ShirleyPhallus do you not think we’ll even get the 15hrs we currently get for 3 & 4 yr olds? I can’t seem to find that info :(

^^ this. Labour will be the bad guys when they tell us they can’t fund this. The Tories currently don’t cover costs of childcare places for three year olds when ratios are 8:1 no way will they come close to 3:1 care for babies. It’s just more lies.

I saw something that said no, the proposed funding is 30 hours for those under 100k and nothing for those over

Well yes. As usual 🙄

Hello Mrs Hunt!

The government will provide £4.1 billion by 2027-28 to deliver 30 hours a week of free childcare for eligible working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years in England, where eligibility will match the existing 3 – 4 year old 30 hours offer.

For me personally, it's a bit of a damp squib.

I've paid my childcare, DS is 15.
I'm 59 and on a middling salary so the chance of me ever exceeding £1m in pension is nil. Although hopefully it will encourage NHS doctors to work more hours.

The £200 towards electricity bills and a freeze on petrol duty helps, but I'd hoped they would scrap the patently bigoted and unfair way that single parents are penalised when it comes to child benefit.

I had childcare sorted from age 1.5 until they were 8ish. And then the school wraparound care and holiday club provision went tits up and cancelled.

So just because it'll help parents at the beginning - doesn't mean there'll be zero struggles later on as the child gets older.

Just be prepared x (we don't have grandparents who help!)

I think it was a good budget. They're never going to make changes that'll benefit every single individual person or family, but they've made waves in some of the big areas.

The Labour bench sneering at some pretty good ideas won't do them any favours.

Disappointing. There was some stuff to benefit rich people and some promises to try and placate people who haven’t got pregnant yet. I wonder how many people will have a baby based on today’s headlines and then realise too late that either the Tories get booted out at the election so none of it happens, or there are simply not enough childcare places for all these extra children so they can’t get a place!

If you earn over 100k you don’t get any free hours but I struggle to see why high earns would need it? Over the age of three you still get 15 free hours