Norfolk mum calls on government to make flexible working easier for employed parents
The Chancellor has announced that free childcare will be expanded to cover all those under five by September 2025
A Norfolk mum is calling on the government to make flexible working easier for employed parents
It's after the Chancellor announced that free childcare will be expanded to cover all those under five by September 2025 - as part of the Spring budget.
"A lot of people I've spoken to didn't even know"
Rebecca Wright lives in Norwich, and campaigns against maternity discrimination:
"There is a long way to go in terms of being flexible overall and outlining that in law, so people aren't pushed out of work because they want further flexibility because a child is sick or there is a family emergency"
"The Government need to provide some more clarity around the timescale regarding their childcare plan because I think it's initially 15 hours and goes up to 30 hours. So, they need to be clearer and roll this information out to the wider public, because a lot of people I've spoken to didn't even know".
"People couldn't even afford to go to work"
This comes after Jeremy Hunt pledged to expand childcare support to working parents in England with children as young as nine months in Wednesday's budget.
The Chancellor announced 30 hours of free childcare for all under-fives from the moment maternity care ends, where eligible, and he said the policy would be introduced in stages to ensure there is "enough supply in the market".
The offer of free childcare for working parents will be available to those with two-year-olds from April 2024, covering around half a million parents, but it will initially be limited to 15 hours.
From September 2024, the 15-hour offer will be extended to children from nine months, helping a total of nearly a million parents, and the full 30-hour offer to all under-fives will come in from September 2025.
Rebecca told us how this change was desperately needed:
"Essentially, people couldn't even afford to go to work which was barmy, just to even think about it.
"Now they have that ability to put their children into childcare and can now return to work without having to think that just going to work is going to only give them a couple of hundred quid disposable income for any other bills."