Chancellor Alastair Darling said, ‘We are proud of our achievements in helping families and tackling child poverty. Pre-school children are benefitting from a massive expansion in childcare places and I now want to do more to help parents of one and two year olds, by increasing child tax credits by £4 from 2010.’
The Chancellor reassured families that child tax credits will be available for all children who need it, whether parents are married, living together or apart. He also said that spending on Sure Start children’s centres would rise in line with inflation.
Other measures outlined in the budget include providing £9.4bn in new business loans, with nearly half to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) over the next year and increasing the National Minimum Wage by 2.2 per cent to £5.93 in October 2010.
In response to the budget announcements, the DCSF confirmed that it would cut spending on central programmes and administration, including ending start-up funding for extended services, now that 95 per cent of schools are offering breakfast and after school activities.
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