Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her first Budget to recommit to the expansion of funded childcare hours that her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, announced in March 2023. The scale of that rollout means that total spending is set to rise by £1.8 billion next year - the same trajectory as Mr Hunt had set out. So it’s a big change, but not a new one.
The real impact for early years settings comes from how the Budget reshapes cost pressures, particularly around staffing.
Rising Employer Costs
The Budget brings major changes to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), with the rate increasing from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent and the level at which NICs kick in lowered from roughly £9,100 to £5,000 per year.
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