The Conservative party has unveiled a proposed £700m plan to expand free childcare to high earners, ahead of their annual conference in Birmingham. The proposal aims to remove the current "cliff edge" where free entitlement ends for salaries above £100,000.
Under the current system, families with young children in England are eligible for 30 hours a week of free childcare, but this entitlement ceases if one parent earns over £100,000. The Conservative plan would abolish this limit, allowing all parents working 16 or more hours a week to claim the childcare.
The party states the plan would cost approximately £700m annually, to be funded by job cuts at organisations such as Arts Council England and the Environment Agency. Kemi Badenoch described the current system as "absurd" and a disincentive to work more, stating that "No one should be turning down a promotion or a pay rise because they literally cannot afford to earn more."
A Labour spokesperson commented that the proposal "tells you everything you need to know about the Tories that the first of their own tax policies they want to unpick is one helping higher earners."