Change the income cap for free childcare to an increased, household cap.

Rejected 12 signatures

What the petition asks

If a child lives in a household where two parents earn £99,999, and there's a combined income of £199,998, the child could still get funding. But if one parent earns £101k and the other is on minimum wage they get no hours at all. This gives the existing system true equality.

Revise and reform the eligibility for free child care hours for children aged four and under.

It's the mother who is usually the lower-earner and without any childcare subsidy they can be priced out of work and their career suffer.
Child care fees can range from £800-£2300 per month, child care hours for a parent looking to get back into the work place can mean the difference between getting a job/working just to put your child into nursery and restarting a career or small business.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign these petitions which calls for similar action:
Change childcare funding eligibility to be based on household income up to £200k
Increase the £100k childcare income cap in line with inflation

Timeline

23 Feb 2026	Petition opened for signatures
26 Mar 2026	Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 12

Status Rejected

Rejected 26 Mar 2026

Follow this petition