Warrington South MP Andy Carter has welcomed the announcements in the Budget and recent funding allocations from the Government to support families across Warrington South, alongside investment in the UK’s nuclear sector which will continue supporting jobs in Warrington.
Presenting his Spring Budget the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, laid out plans for a major expansion in free childcare for parents with children under 5. From April 2024, working parents of 2 year olds will be able to access 15 hours per week and from September 2024, all working parents of children aged 9 months to 3 years can access 15 hours per week. From September 2025 all working parents of children aged 9 months to 3 years can access 30 hours of free childcare per week.
The package of reforms also delivers further for parents on Universal Credit by paying their childcare costs upfront, rather than in arrears, helping millions of low income families manage their family budgets. The entitlement for Universal Credit claimants will also increase to the maximum entitlement to £950 for one child and £1,629 for two children.
Families across Warrington are also set to benefit from further Government support as part of an allocation for local authorities across England in 2023–24. Warrington Borough Council will receive £863,567 from the Supporting Families funding to ensure skilled keyworkers continue to provide tailored support to the most vulnerable families. Through the Supporting Families Programme, vulnerable families are allocated a skilled local keyworker to help them to tackle issues they may be facing across housing insecurity, poor education attainment and substance misuse.
Andy Carter MP commented: “We’re seeing the economic headwinds begin to move in the right direction but there are still many families facing significant cost of living challenges. I’ve made it clear in my meetings with ministers in the Treasury that support for families in Warrington South is an absolute priority for me, and I’m really pleased to see the extension of the energy bill support grants to end of June.
“Making childcare more accessible and more affordable for parents is key to removing the barriers that often stop them being able to return to work, so it’s great news that working parents of very young children will soon be able to benefit from 30 hours of free childcare from 9 months until their child goes to school at 4 years old. This change will benefit over two-and-a-half thousand families across Warrington South, ensuring working families can earn more money without paying for more childcare.”
Further measures announced in the Budget to support the childcare sector includes increasing the hourly rates paid to providers of free childcare to £204 million next year, increasing to £288 million by 2024-25, introducing market reforms to the sector by changing ratios for 2-year-old ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 and allowing childminders to care for more than three children under five if some children are siblings, or their own child. The package also introduces childminders grant to support childminders with start-up costs, incentivizing more talented childcare providers to the sector. This amounts to £600 for individual applicants and up to £1,200 for applicants who apply through a childminder agency.
Speaking on measures to support the local economy, Andy Carter MP said: “Warrington will benefit from the Government’s focus on safeguarding of our energy security with a renewed focus on the nuclear sector which is a key employer for this town. The decision to promote Great British Nuclear provides the opportunity for private and public sector investment and I’m already making the case the Warrington should be the headquarters for this sector.
“This is a Budget for growth and sets the conditions to deliver on the Prime Minister and the Chancellor’s priorities: to halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt to deliver better living standards for everyone across the country.”
