As of July 2024,The Welsh Government provided limited funded childcare support for eligible two-year-olds through its Flying Start scheme and for three- and four-year-olds via the Childcare Offer.
This report reveals this system as failing low-income families, with parents in the richest fifth of the population being more than five times more likely to be eligible for funded childcare than those in the poorest fifth.
Modelling suggests that if a family put their child into 35 hours of childcare for 50 weeks a year under this system, those in the poorest 20% of the population would spend on average 51% of their income on childcare, compared to those in the richest 20% who would spend on average just 5% of their income on childcare.
The report also underlines the high cost of childcare in Cymru, with the bill for 40 hours of care per week from age 0-4 estimated to be £46,215 (2024 cost data)
