The Welsh government has committed to review the hourly rate paid to childcare providers annually instead of every three years, following lobbying from the sector.

The Childcare Offer for Wales provides up to 30 hours of government-funded early education and childcare per week during 48 weeks of the year for eligible families with three and four-year-old children.

Dawn Bowden, minister for children and social care, said: “We recognise the need to support an environment where the sector is able to thrive and grow if we are to deliver our ambitions set out in our Early Childhood, Play, Learning and Care Plan… This approach will support the sector with planning and improve sustainability.”

The rate is currently being reviewed but National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) Cymru has said that it must include additional costs which providers will have to pay from April 2025 including statutory minimum wages and National Insurance Contribution rises.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of NDNA Cymru said: “Over the last few years, we have seen how susceptible early years settings can be to inflation and economic changes, so it’s important that governments review the rates they pay for funded places on an annual basis.”