9. Will the First Minister provide an update on the implementation of childcare support for working parents in Wales? OAQ(5)0050(FM)

We are committed to offering 30 hours of free childcare to three and four-year-olds of working parents for 48 weeks a year, the most generous offer in the UK. A delivery plan will be published shortly.

Thank you, First Minister. I welcome your commitment to working parents. I know this is a huge issue for my constituents; it’s been raised with me time and time again in correspondence and in conversations as well. Whilst it’s fantastic that we’re offering the most ambitious childcare support in the UK, it’s important that it works well and fits the lives of working parents today. What assurances can you give that childcare support will be flexible and that its delivery will both take into account and meet the needs of working parents?

That’s exactly what it must do. One thing I have to say is that the intention is not to displace existing childcare providers. What the scheme will do is help them, in fact, because it’ll mean that they will have a greater source of income than is the case now, and, in many parts of Wales, childcare provision is non-existent, so it will help to stimulate childcare provision in many parts of Wales as well. We know that for many parents, at three and four years old, that is the time when people are looking to go back to work and that’s the time when it’s most difficult and most expensive to get access to childcare, which is why, of course, we made this pledge.

Creating the provision that you refer to for working families is something that should be welcomed, but you will be very aware, of course, that it would be desirable to expand that provision to all families, because that would create opportunities for parents who currently aren’t working to return to the workplace, as many do want to do. So, what consideration are you giving to extending that provision?

We asked the Public Policy Institute for Wales to look at this to see what would be the best way of delivering this: to do it broadly or to target it at those who are working. According to their evidence, the most effective way would be to target working people, because of the fact that people who don’t work at present have informal networks that assist them with childcare. What we want to ensure is that we can encourage people back into the labour market so that they will then get free childcare. That is the principle behind the scheme as it stands.

First Minister, in England, of course, there’s already an entitlement for 15 hours’ worth of childcare each and every week versus the entitlement to just 10 hours here in Wales. I know some local authorities are providing more than that at present, but it’s certainly not something that reaches across the board. Given that there is already a second-rate deal, as it where, for parents here in Wales, can I ask you for a very clear timetable by which you expect to be able to transition to this 30 hours? Can we see an immediate jump to the 15 hours so that at least we’ve got a level-playing field between England and Wales?

I saw the commitment that was made by his party in the election. I never understood it because it was never clear. We were absolutely clear what we were offering to working parents, and it was reflected in the respective results of the parties, I would argue. We will roll this out as what was our main pledge of our five first pledges as soon as we can.

Thank you, First Minister.