Coronavirus: Key workers to get free childcare in Wales

Key workers will be given free childcare for pre-school children in Wales during the coronavirus pandemic, the Welsh Government has said.

Wales' 30 hours of free childcare will be suspended for three months.

Instead, councils can use the funding so childcare providers can offer support to people working on the front line of the outbreak.

Health and social care deputy minister Julie Morgan said it would ensure parents got the help they needed.

The Welsh Government will continue to pay childcare firms for the hours already booked under the 30-hour provision.

For the next three months, children aged under five whose parents work in professions that fall in the key worker category will be able to access free childcare.

They include doctors, nurses, paramedics, social workers, those in food production, the police and fire services.

A full list is available at the Welsh Government website.

Ms Morgan said: "The coronavirus childcare assistance scheme will ensure parents, who are critical workers, will get the childcare they need, and childcare providers will have security about how their businesses will operate."

While schools have closed to most children, they have remained open to school-age children of key workers.