Welsh first minister doesn't give start date for free childcare expansion

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has declined to give a specific date for when his flagship policy to extend free childcare will begin.

The Plaid Cymru government has promised that over the course of the next four years, 20 hours of free care will be available for all children between nine months and four years old.

Ap Iowerth says his government would focus initially on completing the roll out of free childcare for two-year-olds, which was launched under the previous Labour administration.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank said cuts or tax rises would likely be required to fund the £400m childcare policy, while Plaid says the scheme is affordable.

Wales currently offers 30 hours of free childcare for three to four-year-olds whose parents are in work, education or training, which the government plans to maintain.

Before the Senedd election, Plaid promised to extend free care to all children from nine months to four years old, regardless of their parents' circumstances, covering 20 hours per week for 48 weeks a year.

Under a phased plan, it wants to first complete a roll out of 12.15 hours of free childcare a week for all two-year-olds, which was started by the previous Labour government.

The next step would then be to introduce 20 hours of free childcare for all three and four-year-olds, before extending it to lower age groups.

But some voices in the sector have warned it could be very challenging to deliver the policy in full.

At his first public visit as first minister on Wednesday, ap Iorwerth did not give a date for when the policy would be fully implemented, but he told BBC Wales it was a programme for the government's four-year term.

Speaking at a nursery in Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil, he said: "There are things that are being done now to make sure that happens in a sustainable way."

He added: "The universality of this is what makes a difference of course. This is about making sure that all families, that all children are able to benefit from this and we sometimes focus on the need to align the funding."

In September 2025 Merthyr Tydfil became the first council in Wales to complete full roll out of the previous government's childcare offer for two-year olds.

Ambulance worker Caragh Bell-Langford, a mother to seven-month-old Florence, said that nursery fees were "ridiculous" - with some in the local area charging £70 a day.

"I would probably have a few quid left from a 12-hour day, but some parents can't afford that," she said.

Teacher and mother-of-two Emily Moore said she is planning to return to work from maternity leave in September.

She said paying for childcare from September was "a bit of a worry", and she has had to look into cutting her hours at work, whilst her husband was also planning a request for flexible working.

Asked about the new government's childcare policy, the early years manager at Merthyr Tydfil council Sarah Ostler said it was "ambitious" and "exciting", but she also warned there would be "challenges" around staffing and nursery spaces.

The IFS's David Phillips said on Wednesday that the new Plaid government faces a "difficult fiscal outlook", and that the need to forge a consensus with other parties mean not all of its pledges may work out.

Because it does not have a majority of members in the Senedd, Plaid will need the support of either the Tories or Labour to pass legislation or plans to spend money - as it needs more than half of the Senedd's members to vote them through.

Some pledges will be easier to progress, such as expansion to free school meals to families receiving universal credit.

"Other policies may be more difficult to enact, at least in full," Phillips said.

"While all parties bar Reform UK pledged extensions to free childcare entitlements, in a difficult fiscal outlook, finding the £400m a year needed for Plaid Cymru's proposals would likely require cutbacks to other services or increases in taxation."

Opposition parties questioned where Plaid would get the money from.

Reform Wales said: "In principle, Reform supports financial relief for parents and families. We offered a costed tax cut for working people to that end.

"Plaid must explain how they will pay for and administer their, as yet, un-costed childcare policy."

Welsh Labour's Lynne Neagle said serious government "means being honest, being clear, and showing the sums".

"Will it be the schools budget that is cut to fund childcare? Will it be healthcare?," she said.

The Welsh Conservatives' Sam Rowlands, said: "Improving childcare in Wales is important and can provide the support many parents need, but Plaid cannot roll out their flagship policy without being honest about how it will be funded."