What is the plan for free childcare and what other help is there?

The UK has some of the world's most expensive childcare.

The government is expected announce help for some parents in the Budget.

The Chancellor is expected to announce:

The government may also announce that each staff member will be able to look after five two-year-olds instead of four, as is already the case in Scotland.

It said this could save parents up to 15% - about £40 a week for a family paying £265 per week for 50 hours of nursery care.

However, the Early Years Alliance, which represents about 14,000 childcare providers in England, said this risked "severely compromising the safety and quality of care" and would put more pressure on workers.

In England, all three and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week in term time, or 38 weeks a year. Free hours can be used in some private nurseries or state-run pre-schools.

At the moment two-year-olds in England can also have 15 hours of free childcare under certain circumstances, for example if the family receives universal credit.

Free hours are available the term after the child reaches the relevant age.

Under the tax-free childcare scheme, the government pays £2 for every £8 parents contribute, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 for disabled children).

The money can be used for approved childcare including childminders, nurseries, nannies, and after-school clubs. It can be used alongside free childcare hours if parents qualify for both.

Only working families earning at least £152 a week and under £100,000 a year are eligible.

Parents under 20 in England, who are at school or sixth form college, can also receive weekly payments under the Care to Learn scheme. They can get £160 per child a week if they live outside London, or £175 inside the capital.

It depends on the age of the child, the number of hours and the type of care they receive.

The UK's relatively strict "carer-to-child" ratios mean the younger the child, the more expensive the childcare.

The average cost of full-time nursery (50 hours a week) for a child under two in Britain is nearly £15,000 a year, according to the charity Coram. The cost of a childminder for equivalent care is nearly £13,000.

The UK is the third most expensive country for childcare among members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), behind Switzerland and New Zealand.

Its figures are based on a family with two children aged two and three attending nursery for at least 40 hours a week, taking into account state support.

Researchers say the lack of affordable childcare forces many women to work part-time, or stop work entirely.

There are no official figures on how many women no longer work because of childcare costs, but data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that about 1.5 million women don't work due to caring responsibilities.

A 2022 survey by the Pregnant then Screwed charity reported that 43% of mothers said the cost of childcare had made them consider leaving their job. Two-fifths said they worked fewer hours than they wanted.