Spring Budget 2023 Series: 30 Hours of Free Childcare This blog is from our Spring Budget 2023 Series, breaking down the information you should know as a business owner. You can find more of this series here.The Chancellor recently unveiled his ‘back to work’ tax measures in the Spring Budget, focused on restoring market confidence, easing some of the strain on businesses and the public, growing the economy and rejecting the “narrative of decline”.“In the autumn we took difficult decisions to deliver stability and sound money. Today, we deliver the next part of our plan: a Budget for growth. Not just growth from emerging out of a downturn. But long-term, sustainable, healthy growth,” said Hunt.Changes included lifting the cap on tax-free pension contributions, the 100% ‘full expensing’ tax relief and freezing fuel duty, however the corporation tax hike was held firm. Another headline measure that is being widely talked about is the changes to credit for childcare. Hunt announced plans to offer up to 30 hours of free childcare for every child over nine months by September 2025.The new measures, which will be introduced in phases begins with 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of two year olds, which comes into effect in April 2024. This will then be extended to parents of nine months to three years old in September 2024.This extended childcare support will cover over £4.1 billion by 2027/28. The eligibility criteria will match the existing three to four year old 30 hours offer.The funding paid to nurseries for existing free hours will be increased by £204 million from September 2023, rising to £288 million next year. Schools and local authorities will also be funded to increase the supply of wraparound care that parents can drop their children off between 8am-6pm in an attempt to tackle the barrier to get back to work for parents.These measures increase the amount of credit parents are able to claim for childcare or by increasing their hours on Universal Credit from £646 a month to a maximum of £951 for one child, and £1,630 for two, which will be paid upfront rather than in arrears.To ensure there is enough childcare available for these increased support measures, an incentive payment of £600 will be given to anyone who signs up to the childminder profession from autumn 2023. This payment rises to £1,200 for those who join through an agency.Laura Hinton, head of PwC’s UK tax and people consulting business, said: “The government’s plan to expand the 30 free hours to children under three is a big boost to working parents juggling the cost of childcare. It may take time for parents to feel the benefit, given we won’t yet have the childcare facilities or workers in place to cover the need.The policy is also likely to be well received by the broader voting public; our research shows that people across the political spectrum, including non parents, believe incentives for parents of young children are fair – more so than measures to support the over 50s into work.Our recent Women in Work report found that high childcare fees – which are some of the highest in the developed world and represent almost a third of the income of a family on the average UK wage – have been pricing women out of work and causing the gender pay gap to widen.”For more announcements from the Spring Budget 2023, read our breakdown, or one of the articles below:• The pension lifetime allowance being abolished• The super deduction scheme being replaced by full expensing Get More Business Blogs Like This Like Us On Facebook | Follow Us On Twitter | Follow Us On LinkedIn Accountancy FirmAccountant LiverpoolBusiness Supportcross border tradee-invocingLiverpool BookkeeperLiverpool Xero AccountantPayroll AccountantXero Accounting UKXero Certified AccountantXero Integrated Apps Previous PostSpring Budget 2023 Series: Super Deduction ReplacementNext PostSpring Budget 2023 Series: Increased Jail Sentences for Tax Fraud