The Welsh Conservatives have announced plans to pay grandparents up to £4,800 per year to provide childcare for their grandchildren.
Under the plans, parents will be able to choose between nominating a grandparent to look after their child, or to place their child in a traditional childcare placement with a registered childcare provider. Nominated grandparents will receive a Grandparent Childcare Payment of £200 per child per month for up to two children in a single household.
The Welsh Conservatives have also confirmed that they will also extend the offer of up to 30 hours of free childcare per week to working parents of children aged nine months to 4 years of age. At present, only parents of 3 and 4 year olds in Wales can access 30 hours of free childcare.
The news has been welcomed by childcare professionals and parents.
Announcing the policy, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Darren Millar MS said:
“At this election, I am committed to putting forward the most pro-family policy offer Wales has ever seen.
“After 27 years of failure, parents in Wales face the highest childcare costs in Britain. That must change.
“Our Welsh Conservative childcare offer recognises the vital role that grandparents play in delivering care for their grandchildren, extends access to more free childcare, and empowers parents to make the best choice for them and their family.
"These plans are affordable, deliverable, and will help to get Wales working.”
Endorsing the policy, Tiny Tots Day Nursery proprietor, Tina Jones MBE said:
“I am proud to endorse this pro-family childcare policy to provide support for hardworking families and give parents a choice between placing their children in a nursery or with a grandparent.
“Enhancing the free childcare offer to 30 hours is essential to correct the error of Wales suffering with the least generous support for parents in Britain.
“The Welsh Government received the money from the UK Government to extend their childcare offer but chose not to do so. The Welsh Conservatives are clearly the only party serious about this. That’s why I’m backing their plan.”
Executive Chair of National Day Nurseries Association, Purnima Tanuku CBE said:
“Any investment in early childhood play, learning and care has to be welcome as we know that investing early in our children improves their life chances and helps families work.
“Supporting parents and children will be welcome support for families while recognising the importance of nurseries in the implementation of childcare policy is essential.
“Nurseries are facing challenges implementing current policy with rising costs and ensuring they can recruit and retain the staff they need. A commitment to engage with the sector in the delivery of any new childcare offer is most welcome.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Welsh parents face the highest childcare costs in Great Britain, paying around £2,600 more per year to send their child to nursery full-time than parents in England.
The Welsh Conservative Childcare Offer
A Welsh Conservative Government will offer eligible working parents a choice to:
- Receive up to 30 hours of free childcare per week per child aged 9 months to 4 years old with a registered childcare provider.
- Nominate a grandparent to receive a Grandparent Childcare Payment for providing childcare for children aged 9 months to 4 years old.
Grandparent Childcare Payments
Payments will be £200 a month/£2,400 a year, per child, capped at two children per household, enabling parents with two or more children to nominate an eligible grandparent to receive up to £4,800 a year to care for their grandchildren. Only one grandparent may be nominated per family.
Delivery
A Welsh Conservative Government will work with stakeholders to increase the capacity of childcare providers and the childcare workforce and begin rolling out the new childcare offer from September 2027.
Costs
The total cost of the new Welsh Conservative Childcare pledge is expected to require additional revenue investment of £98m which will be met from the extra consequential funding for Wales as a result of the extension of the free childcare offer in England.
NB. The previous UK Government estimated that the costs of extending the childcare offer to working parents of children aged 9 months to 2 years of age would almost double the annual investment in childcare by the UK Government, increasing funding by £4.1bn per year by 2027/28, bringing the total spending on childcare to £8bn per annum. This additional spending delivers an extra £180m in consequential funding to Wales.
