Written question WQ94245
- Asked by
- Andrew RT DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 12 days
Question
Will the Welsh Government be expanding the provision of Flying Start before 2026?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Children and Social Care
We remain committed to our Programme for Government commitment to "Deliver a phased expansion of early years provision to include all 2-year-olds, with a particular emphasis on strengthening Welsh medium provision".
During 2023-24 and 2024-25 we are investing £46m in expanding Flying Start childcare to support long-term, positive impacts on the lives of those children and families across Wales facing the greatest challenges. We expect to support more than 9,500 additional two-year-olds across Wales to access quality Flying Start childcare during 2023-24 and 2024-25 and are well on track to deliver that. By the end of March 2024, over 6,900 2-year-old childcare places had been offered to parents in Wales.
The pace at which we will be able to reach the remaining 2-year-olds is dependent on a number of considerations including the outcome of the budget discussions for 2025-26 and planning discussions with local authorities.