Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has extended subsidised childcare to children as young as 9 months old in what has been described by one economic expert as a “crowd-pleaser” in the run-up to the next general election.
In a move which had been widely trailed in the media, Hunt announced in Wednesday’s Budget 30 hours a week of free childcare, which is currently available only for the parents in England of children aged 3 or 4, will be available for eligible households with children as young as 9 months old.
