Swiss parliament approves allowance for childcare

The cost of daycare in Switzerland will be alleviated via a new childcare allowance for children up to the age of eight. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved the model proposed by the Senate. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The current federal support programme for childcare, in force since 2003, will expire at the end of 2026. Parliament is looking for longer-term solutions. In March 2023, the House of Representatives adopted a solution involving federal funding. But the Federal Council was against it, arguing that it was too expensive. The Senate also opposed it last December. Instead, it accepted another project, with a new childcare allowance based on the family allowance model and financed by the cantons, without federal aid. In this context, the Senate rejected the continuation of the programme agreements currently in place with the cantons. CHF200 million over four years The House of Representatives supports these agreements. It is a ...