Welsh Government confirms childcare expansion as Labour calls for funding clarity
The new Welsh Government has confirmed plans to phase in 20 hours of funded childcare per week for all children aged 9 months to 4 years across the Senedd term.
The provision will be available 48 weeks a year, and Welsh language childcare provision will also be expanded.
First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “Childcare costs in Wales are among the highest in the UK. We want to put money back into families’ pockets and support parents back into work.
“Our ambitious and transformational childcare offer will be the most generous in the history of devolution, and the most generous in the UK, helping boost household incomes, lift families out of poverty and give children the best start in life.”
Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams, who is also the Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equality and holds the childcare brief, said:
“Thousands of parents in Wales are working solely to cover the cost of childcare, and many cannot afford it at all. This needs to change.
“Access to affordable childcare unlocks opportunities and gives parents, especially mothers, the freedom to return to work, education or training. And most importantly, our expanded offer of high-quality childcare will give every child the head-start they need to thrive.”
Welsh Labour has called for urgent clarity on how the policy will be funded.
The party’s spokesperson for Children, Education, and Lifelong Learning, Lynne Neagle MS, said the £400 million annual cost identified by Plaid Cymru required answers on what would be cut to pay for it.
Lynne Neagle MS said:”We all want to see a fantastic childcare offer for families in Wales. But in government, you must balance priorities and budgets. Wales is right to expect serious government from the Senedd. And serious government means being honest, being clear, and showing the sums.
“Will it be the schools budget that is cut to fund childcare? Will it be healthcare?”
Welsh Labour said in an ITV Wales interview, Sioned Williams admitted “we haven’t started to plan out this work” when asked how it would be paid for.
In the same programme, Plaid Cymru MS Carrie Harper, who represents the Fflint Wrecsam constituency, said the policy would cost £400 million and that the first year could be covered by headroom in next year’s Budget.
Welsh Labour has also raised concerns over what it described as Plaid Cymru’s repeated calls for “reprioritising” of the child poverty budget designated by the previous Welsh Government.
The party said that budget included free school meals for primary school pupils, free or subsidised milk in schools, the baby bundles programme and the Flying Start scheme, which provides free childcare to most 3 and 4-year-olds.
Lynne Neagle MS said: “Welsh Labour worked incredibly hard in government to tackle child poverty. I think all in the Senedd would be united in saying we want to see child poverty eradicated. But when Plaid Cymru talks about ‘reprioritising’, this often means cuts. So once again, I’m calling on Plaid to be honest – what is being cut from the child poverty budget? Which families are going to be affected? The people of Wales have a right to know now.”
The childcare announcement comes a day after the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned the new Plaid Cymru-led Welsh Government faced a sharp slowdown in funding growth and difficult choices over its manifesto pledges.
The think tank said the £400 million childcare commitment was equivalent to less than 2% of the Welsh Government’s day-to-day spending budget, or the amount raised by adding 1 percentage point to all rates of Welsh income tax.
It said meeting the cost would mean a combination of holding down healthcare spending, deeper cuts to other areas, or higher devolved taxes.
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