Plan for 30 hours free childcare for under fives goes 'down like a lead balloon'

Extending free childcare to more families should be reason to celebrate, but few people are welcoming the Budget reforms announced today.

Ahead of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's speech to the Commons on Wednesday morning, hopes had been raised that working parents of under fives would be given access to 30 hours of free childcare.

While that is the case, it's not happening anytime soon. In fact it won't be until 2025 when every working parent can access the full 30 hours, as Mr Hunt explained the funding will come in stages 'to ensure there is enough supply in the market'.

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It will start with parents of two-year-olds given 15 hours of free care from April 2024. Then from September 2024, that 15 hours will be extended to all children from nine months up.

Essentially it's future parents who will benefit the most, so it's given little cause for celebration among mums and dads dealing with 'extortionate' childcare bills right now, who had hoped for some immediate financial relief.

The childcare sector too isn't overjoyed with the proposals either. The Early Years Alliance (EYA) says there's already a massive shortfall in funding from the government and has questioned the costing of the new policy and how it's going to be safely implemented.

Samantha Meehan and her husband Michael both work full time and currently have a childcare bill of £12,000 a year for their 14-month-old son Joseph.

They had hoped for some immediate change from today's announcement, but instead say it's 'gone down like a lead balloon' and will leave them struggling for another year.

"When we originally heard about this, I was ecstatic," said