Thousands more nursery places will help with cost-of-living battle, Starmer says
The creation of thousands more childcare places in England will help families fight the ‘cost-of-living battle’, Sir Keir Starmer has told Metro.
A new expansion of nurseries will mean 331 schools across the country get a share of £45 million in government funding to build or grow their on-site facilities.
According to the Department for Education, the moves, combined with the offer of 30 hours free childcare each week, will save eligible parents an average of £8,000 a year per child.
Overall, the extra nurseries should more than double the 6,000 places that were already delivered in the first phase of the plans, the department said.
Writing exclusively for Metro, the Prime Minister said the move would mean ‘many more parents will benefit from good quality, affordable childcare in their community’.
He wrote: ‘That’s good for the cost of living. It’s good for educating the next generation. And it shows that no matter the challenges we face, this government is always on the side of working people.’
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Labour’s 2024 election manifesto promised an additional 3,000 nurseries and 100,000 childcare places, paid for with the VAT placed on private schools.
Keir Starmer writes for Metro about childcare measures
I grew up working class in the 1970s. Like now, it was a decade of energy shocks and rising prices. So I know what it feels like to sit around the kitchen table worrying about how to pay the bills.
That’s why I want to reassure people – this government has your back on the cost of living. No matter what happens in Iran, your energy bills are capped until June. In fact, because of action we took at the last Budget, energy bills will be on average £117 lower from April.
We’ve also frozen prescription charges and rail fares. We’ve capped ground rent charges. We’re directly supporting people who use heating oil in their homes. Fuel tax is frozen until September – and we are keeping that under review. And I encourage everyone to use our Fuel Finder service, which forces petrol stations to publish their prices so you can find the best deal.
Yet for parents, childcare is another cost-of-living battle. This is a really important issue for me. I believe every child should be able to go as far as their talent takes them.
That’s why we’ve invested heavily in our early education system. And it is helping parents with the cost of living. Research shows they are saving an average of £8,000 a year due to Government support for childcare.
I want this to be available to all working families. So I am delighted to announce that in September we will open over 300 new school-based nurseries. That means many more parents will benefit from good quality, affordable childcare in their community.
That’s good for the cost of living. It’s good for educating the next generation. And it shows that no matter the challenges we face, this government is always on the side of working people.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the new facilities were ‘already helping fill the gaps in communities where childcare is hardest to find’.
She added: ‘By expanding these nurseries further and targeting them at the areas that need them most, we are making sure more families can benefit from quality early education while putting practical support in place to help with the cost of living.’
Research published in January by University College London found the policy was ‘not effectively prioritising’ more disadvantaged schools, according to analysis of the 300 sites chosen in the first phase.
The researchers found 58% of the schools had below average free school meal eligibility among their pupils, while 42% had above average.
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