Free childcare in Wales: What help is there for parents?

Parents in England are now entitled to 15 hours a week of free childcare for their two-year-olds.

The UK government hopes the scheme, which will cover all under-5s by 2025, will get more parents back to work.

But the situation is not the same in Wales, because childcare is a devolved issue.

Parents in Wales have previously called on the Welsh government to mirror the additional support being rolled out in England.

However, critics of the new system in England have said there are not enough places.

The Welsh government has two funded childcare schemes for children aged two, three and four.

Under the Childcare Offer, parents and guardians of three and four-year-old children can claim up to 30 hours of free childcare each week, for up to 48 weeks of the year, provided they meet certain criteria.

The 30 hours is made up of at least 10 hours of early education, with the precise figure dependent on each local authority, and up to 20 hours of free childcare.

To be eligible for the 30 hours, each parent must:

• Have a child aged three or four
• Earn less than £100,000 per year
• Be employed and earn at least, on average, the equivalent to working 16 hours a week at the minimum wage or living wage
• Be enrolled in either an undergraduate, postgraduate or further education course that is at least 10 weeks in length

The second is the Flying Start Scheme, which provides 12.5 hours of free childcare to some two-year-olds living in more deprived areas of Wales.

This scheme is currently undergoing a phased expansion, and will eventually be available to all two-year-olds in Wales as part of a co-operation agreement between the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru.

Extra help with childcare costs in England is being rolled out in stages. Some free hours were already available.

The help you can get depends on the age of your child, and whether you are working, or receiving certain benefits.

Working parents can get:

• 15 hours free childcare a week for two-year-olds from April 2024
• 15 hours free childcare for nine month olds from September 2024
• 30 hours free childcare for three and four-year-olds is already available
• 30 hours free childcare for all under-5s from September 2025

When the UK government decides to spend more or less on things such as health and education in England, the Barnett formula is used to decide how much money the other nations receive.

The £4bn expansion of childcare support in England, announced last year, meant £180m was made available to the Welsh government.

Finance Minister Rebecca Evans said at the time that the Welsh government was "already rolling out a phased expansion of our childcare offer to two-year-olds" as part of a co-operation agreement with Plaid Cymru.

"We will consider how best to use the consequentials from this announcement as a cabinet, to best meet the needs of people in Wales," she added.

In January, First Minister Vaughan Gething promised to expand free childcare in Wales if he was elected.

Mr Gething's promise followed a petition calling for the Welsh government to match the UK government's childcare pledge, which received more than 400 signatures and was debated in the Senedd.

In England, Labour has commissioned a review of the UK government's expansion of free childcare.

Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said her party would not commit to the plan, as she said the system was not equipped to deal with extra demand.

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