A Plaid Cymru government will deliver a transformative and universal new childcare offer for children from the age of 9 months to 4 years – worth more than £30,000 in childcare costs in the first four years of a child’s life, Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has announced.

Addressing Plaid Cymru’s Annual Conference in Swansea, Rhun ap Iorwerth said the offer would be the “most generous Welsh childcare offer ever”.

The new offer will build to 20 hours a week for all children aged 9-months to 4-years-old for 48 weeks a year; while also honouring the existing 30-hour offer for those children aged 3 and 4 whose parents are in work, education or training.

At full rollout, this universal offer will be the most generous government-funded childcare programme anywhere in the UK.

Speaking during his conference speech Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said:

“We know what we strive towards. No community left behind and no person, family, or child unworthy of a decent life.

“That is why today, I am announcing that a Plaid Cymru government would introduce a transformative new universal free childcare programme, available for all children from the age of 9 months to 4 years, building towards providing at least 20 hours a week for 48 weeks a year.

“This is the most generous Welsh childcare offer ever, worth more than £30,000 to families in the first four years of their son or daughter’s life - a game-changing intervention with a multi-generational impact.

“For children, the opportunity to socialise, to learn new skills and to set them on the right path to thrive in primary education.

“For parents, the freedom to return to work without being forced to make the agonising calculation of whether they can afford it.

“And for grandparents, so often caring for their children, their children’s children and their own ageing parents, the peace of mind that their government is on their side and on the side of their family.

“Unlike the Labour Government’s offer in England, Plaid Cymru’s will be universal, eliminating the perverse prospect of the gap between entitlements for disadvantaged children and those with working parents being wider than ever, as charities have recently warned.

“A helping hand with the things that matter the most.

“That’s what a Plaid Cymru Government will mean for you and your family.

Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson on Social Justice and Early Years Sioned Williams MS said:

“Investing in childcare and early years education delivers one of the strongest returns of any public investment. In the medium to long term, it more than pays for itself, with global evidence showing returns on investment of around 13% – through better outcomes for children, higher rates of employment for parents, and a stronger, healthier economy.”

“Current childcare costs in Wales are the highest anywhere in the UK, with many families spending more on childcare than on housing. This locks many families out of accessing childcare at all.

“A Plaid Cymru government will go further and faster on extending access to childcare – to put money back in families’ pockets, combat child poverty and provide the best start in life for every child in Wales.