The Government will help cut the cost of childcare in Wednesday's budget as part of a drive to assist people into work, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said.
He said childcare costs were stopping some parents taking a job and the Government could make a ‘big difference’ to reduce them.
Further support would be part of a package of measures to break down barriers to entering the workforce.
The Early Years Alliance welcomed the changes for families on benefits, but urged a wider package of measures to bring down costs for parents.
The current UK-wide £646-a-month per child cap on support for universal credit claimants is expected to be increased by several hundred pounds.
This would be among measures designed to reverse a rise in economic inactivity since COVID including changes to fitness-to-work tests for those with medical conditions.
The budget is also expected to extend the current level of support for energy bills, limiting costs for a typical family to £2,500 a year, for a further three months until June.
