Rishi Sunak defends rollout of free childcare hours

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Aldersyde Day Nursery in Hartlepool on Tuesday

The government has defended its rollout of free childcare hours after Labour called the system a "total mess".

The scheme is being expanded in phases, with 15 hours of free childcare now available for working parents of two year olds.

Rishi Sunak called it a "positive and exciting moment", while Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said 150,000 families had already registered.

But Labour said last week it would not commit to the plans.

Labour has said it does not believe the current plans will be able to provide enough extra places, but said it was committed to the "real opportunity" of reforming childcare.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Ms Keegan said the government was "working all across the country to make sure we build the capacity to cope with the demand".

The prime minister also appeared on BBC Radio Tees on Tuesday morning, where he said the government's "methodical" rollout was working.

"We said this is a really big change and we need to take the time to get it right, to give time for the sector to grow and expand," Mr Sunak said.

"And if you look, that is working. Staffing levels in the sector have increased, and the number of places has also increased over the past year as well."

For working parents of three and four year olds, 30 hours of childcare funded by government is already available, and the expansion of the cover is being rolled out in these phases:

• 15 hours free childcare a week for two year olds from now, April 2024

• 15 hours free childcare for nine month olds from September 2024

• 30 hours free childcare for all under-5s from September 2025

To qualify for the new hours, the majority of parents must earn more than £8,670, but less than £100,000 per year.

The rollout is expected to cause a rise in demand, but the number of available places actually fell slightly in 2023 as childminders told the BBC they felt forced out of the sector due to a lack of pay and appreciation.

According to the Coram Family and Childcare charity, the availability of nursery and childminder places has worsened for all ages of pre-school children across England, Scotland and Wales.

It says fewer than a third of councils (29%) had enough spaces for under-twos in 2024, down from 42% in 2023.

• Who gets 15 hours of free childcare and how do I apply?

Last week, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said Labour had commissioned a review of the government's £4bn expansion of its childcare policy.

On Tuesday, shadow cabinet office minister Pat McFadden said Labour would not reverse the expansion of free childcare to two years olds, saying his party was "not proposing to take anyone's entitlement away".

He said it was a "good aim to expand childcare provision", but said his party had concerns about supply being able to meet demand.

Ms Keegan said the government had used a phased rollout "to make it deliverable" and added there were 13,000 more staff working in the sector than last year.

The government consulted thousands of businesses, she said, to ensure the plans were sustainable.

But childcare providers across the country have previously raised concerns about being able to deliver extra places.

Samantha Hinds, who runs Daisy Chain Day Nursery in Peterborough, said she has had to turn some families away because they do not have enough staff.

She called it a "beautiful job", but said the cost-of-living crisis and poor wages were putting people off from working in the sector.

In Bolton, Julie Robinson, who runs Eagley School House nurseries, said the expansion would be "hugely challenging" as she already has long waiting lists for places.

Despite employing 60 staff across two sites in Greater Manchester, she said she was "struggling month on month" to fund her running costs, business rates and wages.