News
Chancellor expected to expand free childcare in Budget announcement
The budget announcement is coming today
Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce the expansion of free childcare for working parents in England to now include one and two-year-olds in today’s Budget.
Currently, working mums and dads with three and four-year-olds are eligible for 30 hours per week of free child care. The plans are part of a move to help encourage more parents back into the workplace and help boost economic growth.
Equivalent funding is expected to be announced for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Treasury is not formally commenting ahead of the Budget — which will take place on Wednesday March 15th, ahead of the new tax year beginning in April.
However, it has not denied suggestions — as first reported in The Guardian — that the hourly rate paid to childcare providers by the government will also be increased, and that local authorities will be given funding to start setting up wraparound childcare provision in schools from September 2024.
The cost of childcare in the UK is among the highest in the world, seeing the government under pressure – including from some of its own MPs – to provide more help for parents. The rising costs of childcare has been seen as a deterrent preventing some parents from going back to work or being able to work full time.
The extension of free childcare has been lobbied for by business group the CBI, which calculates that while it will cost several billion pounds, it could raise up to £10bn in further revenue by increasing the number of parents able to work.
The Guardian also reported that the government could introduce changes to the staff-to-child ratios for two-year-olds in childcare, moving from one carer for every four children to 1:5 to align with Scotland — which the Treasury also has not denied. Supporters of the idea say it could help cut costs for parents.
However, the Early Years Alliance, which represents around 14,000 childcare providers in England, said relaxing ratios risked ‘severely compromising the safety and quality of care’ and putting more pressure on the workforce during ‘a severe staffing crisis’.
EYA chief executive Neil Leitch said underfunding had left the system ‘on its knees’, and though reports of more spending on the sector ‘appear positive, the devil is in the detail’. He said the government must ensure funding meets the sharply rising costs of delivering places.
Meanwhile, the government will also confirm that energy bill support will continue at current levels through to June. Currently, the government limits the energy bill for a typical household to £2,500 a year but this had been due to rise to £3,000 on April 1st.
Mr Hunt is expected to resist calls from some Tory MPs to cut taxes, saying: “The best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation.” A planned rise in corporation tax, from 19% to 25%, is due to come in from April 1st. However, under plans to be announced in the Budget, businesses will be able to mitigate this increase with a new system of capital allowances.
Amid further teacher strikes and rail strikes happening today and tomorrow (March 15th and 16th), no further cash is expected to be made available for public sector pay, but cabinet figures have expressed confidence that many of the industrial disputes are close to being settled.
In his Budget speech, Mr Hunt will refer to the ‘difficult decisions’ taken by the government last autumn ‘to deliver stability and sound money’, following the economic turbulence caused by Liz Truss’s tax-cutting agenda.
We’re pleased to announce that Proper Manchester is rebranding as Finest City Guides.
As part of this change, the Proper Manchester brand, including its social media channels, will transition to the Finest City Guides name.
This is a rebrand of the existing platform rather than a new or unrelated business. The same team behind Proper Manchester will continue to operate Finest City Guides as we develop the platform under its new identity.
Previous name: Proper Manchester
New name: Finest City Guides
Our social channels and other brand assets will be updated to reflect the Finest City Guides name as part of this transition.
More from Finest City Guides coming soon.
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
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