Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has outlined the cost of a plan to extend 30 hours of free childcare to 1.3 million more children.
Having failed to explain the cost of the pledge to offer free childcare to cover all two-year-olds on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Corbyn has now explained it will amount to “£5.3 billion a year by the end of the next parliament.”
The Labour leader told Mumsnet he wanted “to ensure that all children get the opportunity of an exciting preschool environment.”
According to Labour, only 40% of two-year-olds currently qualify for free childcare, while some families of three and four-year-olds also miss out.
The Conservatives say they will introduce 30 hours of free childcare for families of three and four-year-olds from September.
Like Labour, the Lib Dems say they would extend it to apply to all two-year-olds, while the Greens want free universal childcare for all ages.