5. Will the First Minister provide an update on the roll-out of the Welsh Government-funded childcare offer? OAQ53887

Llywydd, I'm pleased to be able to inform the Chamber that the Government-funded childcare offer is now available to parents across the whole of Wales, and that is a year earlier than originally scheduled.

I welcome that news and the fact that we've got the delivery not just on time but ahead of time, and within budget as well, of this very ambitious and groundbreaking childcare offer, being taken forward very ably by my colleague Julie Morgan.

But, could I ask the First Minister whether his Ministers and Welsh Government officials will meet with the officers and cabinet members of Bridgend County Borough Council, who traditionally, historically, have over-provided the foundation phase to the tune of 25 or 30 hours a week, at great cost, but deliberately in order to benefit the lives of young people, to see the way that we can make this work within the Bridgend area as well? And could I also ask what is being done to develop that longer term—medium to longer term—thinking on a more joined-up, more comprehensive system of early years childcare and education, age-appropriate for all ages? We cannot do it overnight, but I championed this while I was in Government and I'll continue to champion it because I think it's what Wales should be doing in the long term.

Well, I thank the Member for those additional questions. Llywydd, on the issue of Bridgend, Huw Irranca-Davies will be pleased to know that there is already a meeting in the diary for Julie Morgan to meet with the leader of Bridgend council, Huw David, because it is a complex issue, and I know the Minister felt that it would be better to explore those complexities face to face. The foundation phase is a universal offer and the childcare offer is a targeted offer—how we bring them together is a matter that is best discussed in that complex detail in a face-to-face meeting.

Of course, I agree with what Huw Irranca-Davies said about the long-term ambition to make sure that we have high-quality and stimulating experiences in both care and learning settings. It's why we've provided £60 million in additional capital investment that will go into 115 childcare settings. Co-location of the foundation phase and the additional childcare offer provision is absolutely at the heart of what that £60 million is meant to bring about, so that we have affordable, available and accessible childcare and early years learning in a way that brings those two things powerfully together.

We welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has, in fact, pursued the Assembly Conservative group manifesto pledge of providing 30 hours a week of Government-funded childcare for working parents of three and four-year-olds. Indeed, this should be helping parents across Wales to afford support and for them to be confident that they can remain in work. 

As Huw Irranca-Davies AM will know from the Children, Young People and Education Committee, however, whilst taking evidence, there has been some disappointment at the take-up of the childcare offer and concern about raising public awareness. Therefore, First Minister, will you explain what actions you and your Government are taking now to address this and ensure that parents across Wales are made aware of the free childcare that they are actually entitled to receive?

Well, Llywydd, by March of this year more than 11,000 children were already benefiting from the offer, more than 1,700 childcare providers were taking part in it right across Wales and 30 per cent of children taking part in it were receiving their childcare through the medium of the Welsh language. All of those seem to me to be very solid foundations from which we can now, with early roll-out available right across Wales, go on making sure that we publicise the offer; that we have the facilities there through the £60 million and other initiatives to ensure that there is an offer that is available that parents want to take up; and that we go on learning from the lived experiences of parents who are taking the offer up already. I look forward, during the rest of this Assembly term, to seeing more children, more providers and more integrated care to build on what is already a very considerable success.