
March's Budget included controversial plans to relax childcare staffing ratios for two-year-olds to bring England in line with arrangements in Scotland.
Announcing the change as part of a package of measures designed to boost the early years (see box), Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said relaxing the rules will lower the cost of childcare for parents.
The relaxation – which will allow staff in settings to look after five children instead of the current four – will be “optional”, he added, and will be introduced in September 2023, subject to parliamentary procedure.
The move, first proposed in 2013 by then childcare minister Liz Truss, was consulted on last year with most respondents rejecting the proposals.
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