BrowsePetitions#762229
PETITIONRejectedPetition · petition.parliament.uk

Change the income cap for free childcare to an increased, household cap.

If a child lives in a household where two parents earn £99,999, and there's a combined income of £199,998, the child could still get funding. But if one parent earns £101k and the other is on minimum wage they get no hours at all. This gives the existing system true equality.

Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
12
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 12/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 12/100,000
Background
Revise and reform the eligibility for free child care hours for children aged four and under. It's the mother who is usually the lower-earner and without any childcare subsidy they can be priced out of work and their career suffer. Child care fees can range from £800-£2300 per month, child care hours for a parent looking to get back into the work place can mean the difference between getting a job/working just to put your child into nursery and restarting a career or small business.