Spring Budget 2023: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to announce expansion to 30 hours of free childcare a week

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce additional support for parents with childcare. This will come as part of the 2023 Spring Budget which will be announced on Wednesday afternoon.

This extra support is set to come in the form of an extension to the 30 hours of free childcare a week parents and guardians are entitled to. The plan is set to be extended to cover one and two-year-old children.

The current childcare entitlement is up to 15 hours a week for children aged three or four per week for 38 weeks. This number can be expanded to 30 hours if the correct criteria is met.

With the spring budget it is expected that the government will extend the 30 hours a week entitlement to children aged from nine months up to three years. Other measures to help families struggling with the cost of childcare include reducing the number of free hours for two-year-olds and an offer of 10 free hours for disadvantaged one-year-olds.

Confirmation of this change is expected to come during the spring budget. Announcements will be made from around midday today by the chancellor.