Labour Confirms Commitment to Childcare Expansion Plan

Labour Confirms Commitment to Childcare Expansion Plan 

With a general election looming later this year, Labour recently announced that they fully commit to the childcare expansion plan that the current Conservative government have begun rolling out. Labour’s shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, stated that the expansion “would not be reduced” if the party gains power after the general election. 

Under the plan, Labour has pledged to: 

• Extend the 30 hours of funded childcare to all two-year-olds 

• Increase the Early Years Pupil Premium to £1,000 per child per year to support nurseries and other early years providers 

• Reverse the government's cuts to Sure Start and increase the number of children's centres  

The confirmation that the party are committed to the childcare expansion comes after there was some uncertainty over their position with the party previously being critical of the current expansion plans, believing that there are currently too many issues within the sector to roll out the expansion successfully. 

Childcare is usually an important topic for an election and will be again for the next one. With both the main political parties being committed to expanding the level of free childcare, the ways in which the expansion is implemented could be critical.