Kemi Badenoch has pledged to abolish the £100,000 income limit that excludes some working parents from childcare support, announcing the proposal as the Conservative Party’s annual conference opened in Birmingham.
The Conservative leader said a future government led by her party would remove the threshold for funded childcare hours and the Tax-Free Childcare scheme. The pledge, announced on 4 October, has not changed families’ existing entitlements.
What the Conservatives are proposing
In its announcement, the Conservative Party argued that the sudden withdrawal of support can discourage parents from accepting promotions, increasing their hours or taking better-paid jobs.
Badenoch presented the proposal as part of a wider programme of tax reform intended to improve incentives to work.
Removing the ceiling would extend eligibility to higher-income working parents who meet the schemes’ other conditions. The announcement does not establish an implementation date or set out changes to those other requirements.
How the £100,000 limit works
According to GOV.UK, a family cannot qualify for Free Childcare for Working Parents if either parent expects adjusted net income above £100,000 in the current tax year.
This is an individual income test, rather than a combined household limit. Two parents each below the ceiling may qualify, while a household with lower total income can be excluded if one parent exceeds it.
Eligible parents in England can receive 30 funded hours a week for children aged nine months to four years, over 38 weeks annually.
Losing eligibility does not mean every form of childcare support disappears. The separate entitlement to 15 funded hours for three- and four-year-olds in England remains available.
Tax-Free Childcare helps eligible families pay approved providers through an account topped up by the government. For every £8 a parent pays in, the government adds £2, subject to a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child annually, or £4,000 for a disabled child.
Funding and questions still to answer
ITV News reported that Conservative officials put the proposal’s cost at £700 million a year, with funding intended to come from reductions in staffing at arm’s-length public bodies.
That figure is the party’s estimate. The promised savings would need to be delivered alongside the expanded entitlement.
For families considering whether they qualify now, the existing rules remain the relevant guide. Eligibility also depends on circumstances including work, the child’s age and immigration status. The income pledge does not itself announce changes to those conditions.
Trivane View
Removing an abrupt eligibility threshold could reduce a barrier to career progression. Assessing the proposal also requires scrutiny of its cost, the consequences of the proposed staffing savings, and whether childcare providers have capacity to accommodate additional eligible families.
