Will the extended childcare scheme boost Tory fortunes?

Nurseries are warning that the £4bn scheme is underfunded and undeliverable. Can the Conservatives turn around ‘childcare chaos’ and deliver for parents ahead of the general election, asks Sean O’Grady

Rishi Sunak during a visit to Aldersyde Day Nursery in Hartlepool on Tuesday (PA)

This week marks the start of the rollout of the government’s much-vaunted expansion of childcare, costing some £4bn a year. According to the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, “by the end of our rollout, this will save working parents on average £6,900 a year, helping 60,000 more people back into work”.

The prime minister has been busily touring classrooms and telling news crews that it’s a “positive and exciting moment”. At the moment, for working parents of three- and four-year-olds, 30 hours of childcare funded by the government is already available, and the expansion of the cover is being rolled out in these phases:

• 15 hours free childcare a week for two-year-olds from this month
• 15 hours free childcare for nine-month-olds from September 2024
• 30 hours free childcare for all under-fives from September 2025