19:07 26 November 2015
George Osborne has revealed that people working less than 16 hours a week will no longer be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare starting in 2017. Families with incomes of more than £100,000 are also affected. This new scheme affects 1.4 million part-time workers.
The Tories have previously pledged free childcare to working individuals. However, nurseries raised fears that they wouldn't be given enough cash to afford the plans.
Family and Childcare Trust spokesman Rebecca Griffin told the Mirror: "There are 1.4 million people working people who work less than 16 hours a week, and the majority of these are women.
"Often, these jobs with fewer hours are a route into the labour market for women who have given up work to care for children, and often lead to more hours.
"This undermines the Government’s aim of helping more parents into work."