A Mid and West Wales MS has criticised the Welsh Government for “leaving families in Wales at a disadvantage”, over a change in policy that means families in England will be able to access 30 hours of government-funded childcare from nine months to four years old.

The childcare offer in Wales currently provides 12.5 hours a week for two to three-year-olds, 30 hours for three to four-year-olds, and nothing at all for children under two.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have long called for the Welsh Government to expand childcare support and leader Jane Dodds MS said that with the policy change in England “Welsh families will be left struggling at even more of a disadvantage than they were previously.”