BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

Hello, I'm Martin Lewis, and this is the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast.

I do wonder what that's going to be about.

As usual, much of it comes from my BBC Radio 5 live show with Adrian Charles.

And today, it's a special.

We were joined by the Secretary of State for Education to talk childcare funding and support.

We had over a thousand questions in and I've tried to put all the key topics to Bridget Philipson.

So that means in today's pod, exactly what childcare help is available and for who?

How does the tax-free childcare scheme work?

Spoiler, it's not about tax and it's not tax-free.

But it can give you up to two grand a year extra to pay for childcare,

though 800,000 eligible parents are still missing out.

Why is eligibility for child benefit still based on a cliff edge on one

earners income? It's unfair for single parent families. Is anything ever going to change?

Then we get to the big subject. Funded child care, often wrongly referred to as free child

care, will be expanded to 30 hours a week for children from nine months old to five years old from

September as long as the parents are both working.

But what counts as a working parent?

Is there enough funding and can nurseries cope?

We'll hear from a nursery provider as we do that one.

When is a nine month old, not, not a nine-month-old?

When they really have to be a year-old to get help is the rather unfunny answer.

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