In his quest to become the next first minister of Wales, Vaughan Gething has pledged to expand free childcare for families. Although this expansion will require “change at the UK level”, he believes that the cost of childcare should not prevent parents from working or engaging in education. Mr. Gething is vying for leadership against Education Minister Jeremy Miles, both hoping to succeed Mark Drakeford when he steps down in March. Mr. Gething claims that Welsh Labour has already delivered the best childcare offer in practice in the UK and that he wants to expand childcare provision so more parents with young children can access it.
The Welsh government has faced calls to bring its childcare plans into line with those of the UK. Currently, all two-year-olds in Wales can access it for up to 12.5 hours per week, and this is already the case for three and four-year-olds for up to 48 weeks of the year. In addition, the Welsh government has promised to expand the policy to all two-year-olds, but this will require increased resources and a change in the money received, as Mr. Gething points out.
Mr. Gething will officially unveil his manifesto, which includes “more powers” for Wales through devolution from the UK government, the creation of more green jobs, safeguarding the NHS, and speeding up the building of social housing. He has also vowed to focus on support for families, aiming to close the attainment gap, and address the rise in absenteeism and disruptive behavior in schools. Apprenticeships will be prioritized using money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with Mr. Gething securing a commitment from UK Labour that a future government led by Sir Keir Starmer will repatriate the funding to the Welsh government.
Mr. Miles has won the support of most of Welsh Labour’s Senedd politicians in the party’s leadership contest, but Unite, Wales’ largest trade union, has endorsed Mr. Gething despite deeming Mr. Miles “ineligible”. This announcement drew criticism from Mr. Miles, who hasn’t worked in an elected lay office as a worker’s representative. But Mr. Gething stated that Unite determines its democratic processes, adding that he has the support of the five largest trade unions affiliated with the Labour party
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