UK Government Makes Reforms to Child Care Sector

​Family-friendly employment experts in the United Kingdom say they are thrilled to hear the U.K. government will make a significant financial investment in the country's child care sector in coming years, but they have expressed concerns about the amount of money needed to make an impact.

The Confederation of British Industry estimated child care initiatives in the U.K. will cost around 8.9 billion pounds ($11 billion), well over the 4 billion pounds ($5 billion) the U.K. government has allotted.

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt confirmed in the U.K. 2023 spring budget that all preschool children in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will be entitled to 30 hours of free child care a week, for 38 weeks a year, by September 2025. Hunt also promised that all U.K. schools will provide wraparound care—a facility that children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years can attend before and after school—by September 2026.

"Britain is on a lasting path to growth with a revolution in child care support," Hunt said while unveiling the spring budget in March. "Child care reforms will increase the availability of child care, reduce costs and increase the number of parents able to use it."

The U.K. government will roll out reforms in stages, said Claire McCartney, senior policy adviser for resourcing and inclusion at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in Brighton.

• By April 2024: Children 2 years and up will be entitled to 15 hours of free child care a week.
• By September 2024: Children 9 months and up will benefit from 15 free hours of child care a week.
• By September 2025: All children 9 months and up will be eligible for 30 hours of free child care a week.

"The plan to extend free child care for children from the age of nine months is a potential game-changer as it will enable many more working parents—particularly women—to return to work much earlier than they can currently," McCartney said. "This can help avoid the loss of skills and confidence that can be caused by spending too long out of employment and boost gender equality."

Sarah Jackson, officer of the Order of the British Empire and visiting professor at Cranfield University School of Management in Bedfordshire, said the child care proposal must be properly funded and of appropriate length.

"This is a reform long called for as it bridges the gap for all families between the end of paid parental leave and the start of formal education," Jackson said. "But free hours should be available across the whole year rather than being tied to school terms. School holidays and costs will remain a problem."

Jane van Zyl, CEO of Working Families, a London-based charity for working parents, said her organization is encouraged that the U.K. government is treating affordable child care as a vital component of economic growth. But she agreed with Johnson that the current funding proposal is not enough.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported that the U.K. has some of the highest child care costs in the world.

Child Care Support in Company Policies

Experts say U.K. employers should introduce the following initiatives to benefit working parents:

• Support employees by paying child care costs through payroll and have human resource professionals research and communicate information on paying for child care.
• Provide sabbaticals for working parents and enhance parental leave provisions.
• Offer paid leave for child care emergencies.
• Organize a working parents' employee network for peer support and advice.

McCartney recommended that organizations offer employees flexible working options. She encouraged parents to explore compressed hours and flextime to juggle work and caring responsibilities.

"HR's role is to work out what the employer can afford, make the business case for appropriate investment and work with its communications team to ensure that staff knows what is on offer from the employer and where to go for information and support from local institutions and from the government," Jackson said.

Catherine Skrzypinski is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia.