Nearly half of authorities have doubts about Jeremy Hunt’s expanded childcare policy rollout

Nearly half of local authorities fear they will not be able to roll out the government’s expanded childcare policy in April, according to new data.

Almost nine in ten local authorities in England think a lack of staff in the sector will be an obstacle to extending free childcare for young families, the research shared found.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed the major flagship pledge to extend free childcare to draw in voters last year, with eligible working parents of two-year-olds told they could claim 15 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks in a year. And from September 2025, working parents who have children under five will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks per year.

The research, carried out by childcare charity Coram Family and Childcare, and shared with The Independent, found that four in ten local authorities are either uncertain or fearful they will not meet the deadline.

Six in ten local authorities said they were either “confident” or “very confident” of being able to rollout the policy from April.

But the picture looks much worse as the scheme progresses, with only around a quarter of local authorities reporting they feel “confident” or “very confident” about delivering the next stage of the childcare measures from September 2024.

It comes after The Independent revealed last month that thousands of nurseries have shut their doors amid a staffing crisis, sparking fears the government’s promise to expand free childcare was “doomed to failure”.

The new study found around a third of local authorities predict that fewer parents will be able to access free childcare places for three and four-year-olds.

Ministers rolled out 30 hours of free childcare per week in term time for three- and four-year-olds in England in 2017 but experts have warned the childcare sector is already struggling to provide this.

Researchers received a response from 92 of the 153 English local authorities they polled for the new research.

The Independent also recently revealed warnings from experts that Mr Hunt’s Budget childcare pledge was fast unravelling amid “chaos” over funding arrangements. Some warned the sector has not been given enough cash or support to deliver the promise by April.

Ellen Broome, head of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “We are concerned there may be issues for families further down the line in accessing the childcare they need, as well as ongoing challenges in the sector that could impact the successful delivery of this extended support in the coming year.

“These issues – including the challenges around recruitment and retention, and funding rates – need to be addressed urgently, and childcare providers fully supported to manage this extension, so that every child is able to access the high quality early years education they are entitled to, and all parents can make meaningful choices about work and care.”

The Confederation of British Industry has estimated that implementing the government’s expanded childcare plans will cost £8.9bn rather than the £4bn ministers have allocated to fund the increase in places.

Sarah Ronan, director of the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, said: “Local authorities are right to be concerned about the staffing crisis. Providers have been warning about this growing crisis for a number of years.”

Ms Ronan said the situation is “not looking promising” on the ground when she is talking to childcare providers.

She added: “It is just over eight weeks until roll-out of the new childcare policy begins and not only do providers not know how much they are getting paid by the local authorities to provide the scheme but there has still been no action which has started from government about how to tackle the staffing crisis.

“It doesn’t feel like the government has grasped the severity of the staffing crisis and the huge numbers of early years staff which the expansion requires. It seems like they have their heads buried in the sand.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Education said it was confident in the market to deliver the rollout thanks to a “£204 million cash boost last September and more than £400 million to uplift rates paid for places from April.”

They added: “We published the April funding rates back in November, and are working closely with local authorities to make sure they have everything they need to successfully deliver the first phase of the rollout in April.”