Nursery World - Children’s minister confirms £510m total increase for early years funding

Children and families minister Will Quince has confirmed that the Government is providing an additional £510m for early years funding over the next three years, despite initial announcements of £170m by 2024-25.

The minister for children and families Will Quince MP

Writing on Twitter, the minister provided more detail of the uplift in funding for providers to deliver 15- and 30-hour places.

It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced £170m for the sector by 2024-25 in his Autumn Spending review yesterday, but failed to reveal the full extent of the investment. It is unclear why this extra money was not announced by the Chancellor nor included in any subsequent Government documents.

It is now understood that local authorities will receive £160m in 2022-23, £180m in 2023-24 and £170m in 2024-25 to increase the hourly rate paid to childcare providers.

Following a meeting with early years organisations yesterday afternoon and to provide clarification over the amount of funding being made available, Will Quince tweeted, ‘This afternoon I met with @EYalliance, @NDNAtalk, @PACEYchildcare where I was delighted to confirm that we are investing additional funding for the early years entitlements worth £160m in 2022-23, £180m in 2023-24 and £170m in 2024-25.

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