Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

West Berkshire childcare providers help shape new £4bn investment announced by chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the Budget




Feedback from West Berkshire childcare providers has helped shape new investment in the sector.

Newbury MP, Laura Farris, welcomed the Government’s announcement on childcare in yesterday’s (Wednesday) Budget, committing record-investment of £4 billion into childcare.

Mrs Farris has been working closely with the chancellor since the start of this year and among the proposals she put forward were a significant increase in direct funding to nursery schools, an overhaul of the Universal Credit scheme to give parents upfront money to fund childcare and new incentives for early year providers to support recruitment and retention.

Newbury MP, Laura Farris
Newbury MP, Laura Farris

All of these proposals have been accepted by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and formed part of his Budget speech.

He also laid out new plans to extend the 30-hour free childcare offering to one and two-year olds and fund local authorities to provide wrap-around childcare in all primary schools from September 2024.

A new pilot scheme was also announced, which Mrs Farris had spoken about in the Newbury Weekly News earlier this month.

It will see incentive payments of £600 for childminders who sign up to the profession, rising to £1,200 for those who join through an agency.

Mrs Farris said: “I am absolutely delighted that the chancellor has listened to us and today committed the government to billions of pounds of new investment into childcare.

“Since I have been elected I have worked closely with a number of early years providers in West Berkshire, including the Hungerford Nursery, Victoria Park Nursery and the Ladybird Nursery and heard directly from them about the issues of staff recruitment and the significant pressures on their budgets.

“Added to this the prohibitive costs facing parents, I am in no doubt that childcare costs have placed a major burden on families, often forcing one parent, typically the mother, to forego employment opportunities and in some cases, driving families into poverty.

“This is a matter of vital national infrastructure which has been overlooked for too long.

“The government’s response today recognises all of this and will make childcare more affordable and accessible for parents across West Berkshire, as well as giving a financial boost to providers, driving up the quality of provision.

“I am particularly pleased that the voices of some of West Berkshire’s best-loved nurseries have been heard at the heart of the Treasury.”

Earlier this month, Mrs Farris had written in the NWN that she had been “campaigning with parliamentary colleagues on the issue of childcare” and that she had “presented a written submission to the chancellor, setting out our proposals ahead of the Budget”.



Comments | 0
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More