A very happy new year to all Herald readers. I hope you had a nice Christmas.
From today until the 31st March, working parents can get an HMRC code that will entitle them from this April to the first 15 free hours of childcare for their 2 year olds. It's part of the Government's latest expansion of free childcare which, by September 2025, will allow working parents to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week from when their children are 9 months old until they start school.
You can expect to hear about this a lot from me for 3 reasons. Firstly, now I'm the Children's Minister I am responsible for delivering this expansion. Secondly, it's the single largest investment any government has ever made in childcare. Thirdly and most importantly, the cost of childcare is one of the biggest cost pressures families are currently facing and it's important those who can benefit from this know it exists.
Just as the Government stepped in with furlough and business grants during the pandemic to protect people's jobs and livelihoods, then paid half of people's energy bills when energy prices spiked with the war in Ukraine - as well as launching a cost of living payment scheme to help people with their increased costs - so the Government is stepping in to help working families with the cost of childcare. When the scheme is fully rolled out, it will save the average family up to £6,500 a year.
Alongside this, we're launching a national recruitment campaign to get more people to consider working with children in their early years.
Those who work in childcare regularly complain to me that some people see them as babysitters. While it's true that the expansion of childcare we're launching will help more people return to work - and help an estimated 1.5 million people increase the number of hours they work - the first 5 years of a child's life are crucial for their development as adults.
As someone who worked to improve social mobility in my pre-politics life, I was already familiar with how important it is to get those years right.
But having visited early years settings all over the constituency and now, in my new role, all over the country, the skill and dedication it takes to educate children in their first few years always hits you as soon as you walk in the front door.
So as well as recruiting more people to the profession, I'm keen we see more recognition for the vital role they play.
So do please spread the word. And encourage parents you know to visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to see the range of childcare support available to them.
