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Conservatives propose scrapping £100,000 limit on funded childcare

Kemi Badenoch says a future Conservative government would let higher-earning working parents keep funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare, while the National Day Nurseries Association warns about underfunding.

The stone front of the Palace of Westminster seen from Westminster Bridge. — Stock photo, for illustration

Hubba TrainingOfficial sources

Published 4 October 2026Updated 6 October 20262 min read

At a glance

earnings limit the Conservatives propose to remove

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has proposed removing the £100,000 earnings limit on funded childcare for working parents in England.
Under the proposal, a future Conservative government would abolish the £100,000 cliff edge for free childcare hours and Tax-Free Childcare.
The National Day Nurseries Association said funding does not reflect the true cost of delivering places for 87% of providers.

Update: This article was updated on 6 October 2026 to add the response from the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA).

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has proposed removing the £100,000 earnings limit on funded childcare for working parents in England.

She announced the plan on 4 October, the first day of the Conservative Party Conference. It is a proposal for a future Conservative government and does not change the current rules.

The current rules

GOV.UK sets out the current rule for Free Childcare for Working Parents. Parents will not be eligible if their own or their partner's 'expected adjusted net income (including any foreign income) is over £100,000 for the current tax year'.

GOV.UK's Tax-Free Childcare guide sets the same income limit, in the same words.

Families who are not eligible can still get 15 hours of free childcare a week for 3 and 4 year olds, for 38 weeks of the year.

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said the £100,000 limit has been in place since 2017 and has not risen since.

What the Conservatives propose

The party said it would abolish the £100,000 cliff edge for both free childcare hours and Tax-Free Childcare. It said the change would be fully funded through new savings from public spending.

“The childcare cliff edge creates problems for families, workplaces and nurseries - it means promotions turned down, hours reduced and endless forms.”

Laura Trott MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education

The proposal follows growing debate about the limit. In September, NDNA reported that the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) had published a report on the cliff edge.

NDNA said the report set out options short of removing the limit. These included raising it to £125,000 or £150,000, or tapering funding for parents above £100,000.

Sector reaction

On 6 October, NDNA responded to the proposal. It said it welcomes any support for parents with childcare costs, but that government funding does not currently reflect the true cost of delivering places for 87% of providers.

“Bringing more parents into funded childcare without fixing the current underfunding challenges will only put more pressure on early years providers and their workforce.”

Tim McLachlan, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA)

For your setting

What this means for your setting

0 of 4 done

Nothing has changed for now, and the £100,000 limit still applies to Free Childcare for Working Parents and Tax-Free Childcare.
If parents ask, you may want to explain that this is a political proposal, not government policy.
If the limit were ever removed, more families could become eligible for funded hours, so you may want to follow the debate.
Parents can check their own eligibility on GOV.UK, so you may want to point them there rather than advise on individual cases.

Tick things off as you go. Your ticks are kept in this browser only.

Does this apply in Scotland? The funded hours described here are for England, and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different schemes.

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Licence.

At a glance

earnings limit the Conservatives propose to remove

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has proposed removing the £100,000 earnings limit on funded childcare for working parents in England.
Under the proposal, a future Conservative government would abolish the £100,000 cliff edge for free childcare hours and Tax-Free Childcare.
The National Day Nurseries Association said funding does not reflect the true cost of delivering places for 87% of providers.