The UK government is today expected to announce it will extend its free childcare policy to parents of children aged one and two.
With Chancellor Jeremy Hunt poised ready to deliver his first Budget of 2023 at 12:30pm today, it has already been revealed ahead of time, according to multiple national news outlets, that a £4 billion support package will be unveiled to help parents and guardians cope with the cost of childcare as the cost of living crisis continues.
The government‘s plan is believed to include 30 hours a week of free childcare for families in England with children in that age group.
At present, only parents with children aged three and four are currently eligible.
Childcare has been a topic of much discussion in recent weeks, after it was revealed that UK childcare costs are among some of the most expensive in the world – with full-time nursery fees for a child under two coming in at an average of £269 a week last year, which is equivalent to around £14,000 annually.
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Government set to announce free childcare for children aged one and two / Credit: Tanaphong Toochinda & Ryan Fields (via Unsplash)
The Early Years Alliance also warned last week that nursery fees are predicted to increase even further and higher than in previous years – going up by an average of 8%.
Currently, all families of children aged three and four are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare a week, over 38 weeks, while households in England can qualify for 30 hours of free childcare a week if parents earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum or living wage.
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But the Chancellor is promising to extend this further in his Budget later today.
On top of the expected plans to extend the government’s free childcare offering, Mr Hunt could also be announcing a £288 million increase in funding for the current free childcare programme for three-year-olds by 2024-25, according to The Guardian, as well as addressing the issues raised over staffing numbers at childcare facilites nationwide.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is unveiling his first Budget of 2023 today / Credit: Flickr
In response to the reports of an expected funding boost, the Early Alliance’s Chief Executive, Neil Leitch, agrees that while it initially appears positive, “the devil is in the detail”.
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“We know that the sector is facing its most challenging time in decades,” Mr Leitch said.
“Settings are closing at record levels, there is a severe recruitment and retention crisis, and costs continue to soar.
“Unless the government puts in safeguards to ensure that funding for all early entitlement offers continues to meet the sharply rising costs of delivering places, not only now but in the future, what is currently a crisis will end up in catastrophe.”
The Chancellor has come under pressure in recent weeks to act on childcare, and respond with an offer to rival Labour’s plan for radical overhaul after the next General Election.
While The Treasury has already announced plans to increase the £646-a-month cap on support for parents on Universal Credit by several hundred pounds, and pay the support up front instead of parents having to claim it back, opposition parties and critics are still demanding more be done by the Conservative government.
Met Office reveals what Greater Manchester can expect from ‘extreme’ heatwave this week
Emily Sergeant
The Met Office has given an indication as to what Greater Manchester can expect as the ‘extreme’ heatwave arrives this week.
In case you hadn’t heard, Amber Extreme Heat warnings and heat-health alerts have been issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) from Monday through to Thursday this week – with temperatures widely exceeding 35°C nationwide, and in some areas – particularly on the south coast – potentially even reaching 38°C.
Temperatures are expected to rise ‘quickly’ this morning (22 June) and are forecast to reach 34°C in southern parts of England.
The heat will build further into Tuesday, with highs of 37°C forecast for southern England and 35°C southeast Wales. The peak of the heatwave is now forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, when temperatures are expected to climb to 38°C.
But by Friday, conditions will be less hot – with highs of 33°C forecast across eastern areas.
⚠️⚠️ Amber weather warning issued ⚠️⚠️
Extreme heat across parts of central and southern England and Wales
Heatwave conditions in the UK are met when a location records a period of at least three consecutive days with temperature values meeting or exceeding the heatwave temperature threshold for that location.
Overnight temperatures will also be very high, with widespread ‘Tropical Nights’, where the temperature does not drop below 20°C, forecast especially in urban areas, while humidity is also set to be a factor, making this heatwave ‘even more impactful’, the Met Office has warned, with heat stress a ‘danger to all’.
Despite all these weather warnings and forecasted temperatures though, it seems that the northern parts of the country – especially the North West – are missing most of the extremely hot conditions.
“The exception for the hot conditions is further to the northwest in the coming days, which will see more near-average temperatures,” the Met Office said in a statement, adding that we are also expected to see more ‘unsettled’ conditions too – with rain and thunderstorms forecast at various points throughout the week, although this could change.
Current forecasts indicate that the peak temperatures for Greater Manchester this week will be on Wednesday and Thursday, with highs of 33°C to be reached in the city centre.
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Tom Crabtree, said: “The forecast heatwave is developing into an impactful severe weather event, with record breaking June temperatures and very high humidity.
“The combination of heat and humidity will be oppressive and bring impacts across society from public health and infrastructure, to power and water supplies.”
Featured Image – Milo Kaye (via Unsplash)
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What people are wearing at Parklife 2026 – ruffles, cowboy boots, football shirts and bandanas
Clementine Hall
Parklife weekend is here, which means festival fashion is back, and Manchester has absolutely delivered on its outfit trends once again.
Every year in the fields of Heaton Park, thousands of ravers flock to Parklife festival for the biggest party of the year.
And of course, you can’t attend a festival without wearing a fire fit and boy oh boy have we seen some.
Gone are the days when you’d throw on a t shirt and jeans to a festival, and although you may see a few tracksuits and flimsy rain ponchos (we are in Manchester after all), the people of Parklife are dressing to impress this year.
Images: The Manc Group
The main theme of the weekend is…ruffles.
We’re talking ruffled shorts, ruffled boots, ruffled skirts – if you can ruffle it, the Parklife people are buying it. We’d say the vast majority of girls are wearing ruffled hot pants, and we are absolutely here for it.
Another trend is not practical in the slightest but of course looks absolutely fab, and that is cowboy boots.
Images: The Manc Group
We dread to think of the blisters that are going to crop up after the weekend, but as the old saying goes…beauty is well and truly pain.
You may mistake yourself for being at Coachella due to the amount of girls absolutely rocking a bandana this year, a trend which is both stylish and practical with the sun blaring down on Heaton Park this weekend.
And last but not least, maybe it’s the World Cup fever but we’ve spotted both boys and girls sporting football shirts and looking class whilst doing so.
Images: The Manc Group
All in all, Parklife weekend is flooded with fashionistas this year but are we surprised when Manchester is a hive for the coolest cats in the game? We think not.
There’s also a couple of pop-ups onsite this year for if you’re looking to level up your fit, including Suzy Loves Milo selling vintage garms and The Mothership providing all the perfect accessories.
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2023 
