To be disappointed that the free 30 hours for 1-2 year olds won't come in fully until Sept 2025?

[OhwhyOY]

Totally understand the rationale behind needing to delay it a bit to make sure there are sufficient nursery spaces available, to allow for increased government funding to filter through given how financially strapped many childcare providers are atm due to 3-4 year old underfunding, etc. But to delay it coming in for one and a half years feels pretty tough on those who desperately need that support now, and also seems daft when it will potentially offer such a massive economic boost that we also need now. Definitely at least partly selfish disappointment as I have a current two year old who won't benefit at all, but I'm thinking more about all those people who are not in work so the government's primary target, and will still need to be sat at home another year or two. Great long term news though, as long as childcare places are properly funded by the government to avoid a loss of even more nurseries/childminders.

if there’s any rumours of that happening it may be that labour doesn’t get in. Lots of very happy mums today with the budget.

I'll be surprised if it happens at all OP. I used to work in a preschool, but it closed down just before Christmas due to lack of staff. I now have a school admin job - it pays more per hour, I get paid over holidays and I get sick pay - never had any of that when I worked in a preschool. Fewer people are signing up to do childcare courses these days too. Unless they can make the job more attractive, I don't see how nurseries will find staff to care for all these extra 9 month to 2 year olds.

No it means that if they are serious (labour or tories) then they need to fund it properly or there just won't be the places.

Would you take a pay cut to fund this? I won't!

Well it’s unrealistic and only has the purpose of headline grabbing to suggest they are helping, which the Tories know they won’t have to implement. So when it is either badly introduced or scrapped they have a stick to beat Labour with. Political games and no desire/ability to actually come up with something that will help people.

They have said there will be more funding for nurseries to pay for it including increasing the hourly amount. Hopefully it will be done properly. Although I would be happy to pay top up fees if needed, the reduction will still be very welcomed.

Yes the amount he quoted equates to 30p per hour rise! And they make it illegal to charge top ups! I can't believe you are all buying this shit show.

For me, it will mean that I will be able to up my hours at work to 4 days per week, regardless of if we have a second child or not. This will push me into the higher tax band so it will benefit the country more. I can see how this will work and bring more money in to the economy for those of us who want to progress and further our careers, it will mean it’s a proper option for us.

And another example of how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Indeed. If they had offered vouchers to families currently paying for childcare, or made it tax deductible, or something along those lines, families currently paying through the nose and anyone able to get their child into a setting now could benefit straight away. They could have done that in parallel with working to increase the number of staff and settings over a longer period of time.

What they have announced doesn't seem workable, it's a kick in the teeth to families struggling now, it may be giving false hope to families who think they will benefit in the future, and it's unlikely the Tories will have to implement it because they probably won't be in power.

@RosaBonheur sadly they don't care about people already paying for childcare. They care about those who are not working and therefore not likely to be using paid childcare at all. Its classic Tory.

Other countries have much lower costs and it impacts society in that more women can work, making it more equal across sexes. Is that bad?

Hopefully it won't ever happen as it'll be the death knell of the childcare sector

Not at all, the childcare sector is predominantly women, do they not deserve decent rates of pay? Or is it just the higher income women that we are trying to support?

I think in countries where childcare costs are lower, it's usually because of state subsidy. In at least some of them, the Scandinavian countries for example, childcare workers aren't paid badly and it's viewed as a more skilled role.

Indeed. If they had offered vouchers to families currently paying for childcare, or made it tax deductible, or something along those lines, families currently paying through the nose and anyone able to get their child into a setting now could benefit straight away. They could have done that in parallel with working to increase the number of staff and settings over a longer period of time.

It may be sold as helping struggling families but their policy's not aimed at helping those already working. It's aimed to get more people, usually women, back into the workplace since many sectors are desperately short staffed since brexit!

Dont rely on it op it's electioneering by a party with no chance of re-election
The conservatives usually tell us its labour who think they have a magic money tree seems they've found one too

I’d love to see both helped. Wrt childcare we actually did choose to pay more and used nurseries that didn’t offer the free hours.

I’d not kick this back though as I compare what we pay to other countries and it’s so high women are impacted. But yes all for higher funding and even top up fees being possible as it would bring more money into sector.

@OhwhyOY to everyone saying it’s disappointing what is the solution? The nurseries in our area are all full until September for starters and these places aren’t the tardis so how do they suddenly create more room for all these extra children? That’s without considering the ratio of staff to children. My friends nursery is constantly short staffed. I wouldn’t be sending my babies to a place that cannot cope with the new demand safely.

Well if you're disappointed now, just remember that the only way it will be fully implemented and you will benefit from it is if you vote conservative at the next election 😀

This. It will never happen. The government funded places don’t cover the basic costs of providing the place. Childcare providers have faced hikes in fuel, food etc just like most other businesses.

To be honest, the wait for it to start helps me as I have now decided to leave the childcare sector as have many of my friends and colleagues. The realisation that we’re not receiving enough support has been the nail in the coffin. Government even refuse to lose the words ‘free childcare’ when in fact it is ‘funded childcare’. This gives me time to find other work.

Yes, exactly this. It all has to be interpreted in the context of the UK not having enough workers and the government not wanting to admit the role Brexit has played in this. What they desperately want to do is get more labour out of the existing workforce, not make life easier for people who are already able to work now. I'm not saying this is a sensible way of doing things but it's pretty obviously underpinning everything.

We are struggling now with 1 childcare full time while both of us working full time and high salary fortunately. So I can imagine lower salary won’t be able to afford it. Our nursery increases their rate 10% 2 years in a draw and expecting about 8% increases this year. It all comes down to food, utilities bills, contractors because of short staff. So all the extra money paying actually doesn’t give extra care or extra paid for the workers.
There are so many ways (eg give out higher tax free childcare vouchers rather than just mere £2k/year, or tax credits for parents) they can help with the struggling parents RIGHT NOW when inflation is so high, but nope they chose to have a headline policy just to keep them in the jobs. Guess what we definitely not voting for them, cause we don’t trust them with all the messes they caused!!!
they basically tell us who cares if you are struggling, just wait for 2.5 years!

I’m sure it is. But 16 hours each is a low figure for 30 hours of funding.

it’s going to be a shit show to try to implement. Especially when people are already talking about whether they’re willing to pay a bit actually legal top up just to get the hours and things like that.

This 😅🤣😂