Two thirds of Britons are unaware of free childcare extension

New polling from Ipsos has found that the majority of Britons were unaware of the government's new childcare benefit (70%), falling to 43% of parents with children up to age five.
  • 7 in 10 Britons (70%) don’t know much about Rishi Sunak’s expansion of free childcare, falling to 4 in 10 (43%) of parents of children up to age five.
  • Half of the public (52%) believe it’s difficult to secure affordable childcare.
  • 44% don’t think this plan will improve the affordability of childcare, with only 37% expecting it to get better.
  • Similarly, the majority (57%) do not expect the availability of childcare to improve.

New polling from Ipsos has found that on the eve of Rishi Sunak’s expansion of free childcare to include 15 free hours for children aged two, the majority of Britons were unaware of the new benefit (70%), falling to 43% of parents with children up to age five.

More than a third of the public anticipate this new scheme will improve childcare affordability (37%), rising to 47% among parents. Approximately 3 in 10 (28%) expect no change, and 16% expect it will worsen affordability.  The public expect the scheme to have less of a positive impact on place availability, with 1 in 4 (24%) expecting improvement compared with 57% anticipating no change or even a deterioration.

New government childcare policy: More of the public anticipate an improvement in affordability than availability, but majority expect no change or a deterioration in both - Ipsos survey

Currently, 52% of the public say it’s very or somewhat challenging to locate affordable childcare in Britain, with an additional 43% considering it difficult to find any available places, regardless of cost. Furthermore, 37% foresee the average Briton struggling to find childcare conveniently located relative to their home and work.

Among parents using paid childcare, only a third (34%) report affordability difficulties, with 41% finding it easy. Affordability is a more prominent issue for women (45%) than men (24%). One in five struggle to find available providers (22%), or convenient access to providers (20%), irrespective of cost. 

For those not using paid childcare, only 10% cite cost as a main deterrent. More prevalent reasons include children being old enough to not require childcare (35%), having friends or family who can provide childcare (27%), and preference for staying at home with their children.

Among those who do not use paid childcare, only 1 in 10 cite cost as a main barrier - Ipsos Childcare Survey

Trinh Tu, Managing Director of Public Affairs at Ipsos in the UK, said:

Rishi Sunak’s expansion of free childcare in the UK marks a significant moment, but public awareness remains low, particularly among parents of zero to five-year-olds. Although some anticipate improvements in affordability (37%), a greater proportion (44%) predict no change or even a deterioration. Similarly, the majority (57%) do not expect the availability of childcare to improve. This shows the public isn’t entirely convinced that the policy will effectively tackle the complex issues associated with childcare.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,157 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the online Omnibus on 15th-19th March 2024. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.

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