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<p>The department is providing over £4.1 billion by the 2027/28 financial year to
fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for working parents with
children aged 9 months to 3 years in England. This will remove one of the biggest
barriers to parents working by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that
working families can access. This is set to save working families using the full 30
funded hours up to £6,900 per year from when their child is nine months until they
are five years old by September next year.</p><p>Already, hundreds of thousands of
children aged 3 and 4 are registered for a 30-hour place, which can save eligible
working parents up to £6,000 per child per year. Expanding this entitlement will help
even more eligible working parents with the cost of childcare and make a real difference
to the lives of those families.</p><p>To be eligible for the expanded 30 hours entitlement,
as with the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16
hours a week at national minimum wage or living wage (£183 per week/ £9,518 per year
in 2024/2025), and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. For families with
two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria, unless one is receiving certain
benefits. In a single-parent household, the single parent must meet the threshold.
This offer aims to support parents to return to work or to work more hours if they
wish.</p><p>In addition to the expanded entitlements, the government has also taken
action to support parents on Universal Credit with childcare costs upfront when they
need it, rather than in arrears. The department has increased support for these parents
by increasing the childcare cost maximum amounts to £950 for one child and £1630 for
two children.</p><p>Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children
aged 0 to 11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up
to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities and has
the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare.</p><p>The department is committed
to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare and government funding
schemes are designed to be flexible enough to support families’ different situations.</p><p>For
the 2024/25 financial year, the department’s funding rates for the York local authority
will be £10.30 per hour for under 2s, £7.59 per hour for the 2 year old entitlements
and £5.20 per hour for 3 and 4 year olds.</p><p>The government is also investing £289
million in a new wraparound childcare programme. The government’s ambition is for
all parents of primary school children who need it to be able to access childcare
in their local area from 8am to 6pm. Parents will still be expected to pay to access
this provision, but support will be available to eligible parents through Universal
Credit childcare and Tax-Free Childcare.</p><p>Parents should expect to see an expansion
in the availability of wraparound care from September 2024, with every parent who
needs it able to access term-time wraparound childcare by September 2026. The department
is also providing over £200 million a year for the continuation of the Holiday Activities
and Food programme and the department is investing a transformational £560 million
in youth services in England over the next 3 years. This is part of a wider package
the government has provided long term, to support young people facing the greatest
challenges.</p><p>The department will also continue to monitor the sufficiency of
childcare places across the sector. The department’s Childcare and Early Years Provider
Survey shows that both the number of places available and the workforce has increased
since 2022.</p><p>Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision
of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Where
local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action
the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the
local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support
contract.</p><p>The department has regular contact with each local authority in England
about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.</p>
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