Greater Manchester
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Area | 1276 |
|---|---|
| Population | 2. 756 million (2015) |
| Mayor | Andy Burnham |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 585853 |
About Greater Manchester
Manchester is a major city in the northwest of England with a rich industrial heritage. The Castlefield conservation area's 18th-century canal system recalls the city's days as a textile powerhouse, and visitors can trace this history at the interactive Museum of Science & Industry. The revitalised Salford Quays dockyards now house the Daniel Libeskind-designed Imperial War Museum North and the Lowry cultural centre.
Lawrence Jones: Ex-tech boss who drugged and raped women jailed
... Jones, of Hale, Greater Manchester, had already spent 10 months in jail...
Covid inquiry: Some local leaders put politics ahead of public health, says Hancock
... " The mayor and 10 leaders in Greater Manchester, including a Conservative leader, spent many hours trying to negotiate a deal with the government...
Sir Elton John to address MPs after HIV testing trials success
... The trials have been taking place in 33 hospitals in London, Greater Manchester, Sussex and Blackpool, where prevalence is classed by the NHS as " very high"...
Childcare: £400m to expand free scheme in England
... Nicola Fleury, who owns the Kidzrus Nursery Group, in Salford, Greater Manchester, said four of her five nurseries were already close to capacity...
Brianna Ghey: Teenager had plan to murder schoolgirl, trial hears
... The trial has previously heard they The pair, who were 15 at the time, cannot be named because of their age and are identified only as girl X, from Warrington, and boy Y, from Leigh, Greater Manchester...
Excluding us from meetings harmed Covid response, mayors tell inquiry
... The Labour mayors of London and Greater Manchester said their repeated requests to join emergency Cobra meetings at the start of the pandemic were refused...
Brianna Ghey: Murder-accused teens 'had preoccupation with torture'
... Neither accused can be named by court order because of their age and are identified only as girl X, from Warrington, and boy Y, from Leigh, Greater Manchester...
Manchester police probe Hamilton theatregoers' fight
... A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) spokesman said officers were called following a " report of an assault"...
Childcare: £400m to expand free scheme in England
By Nathan StandleyBBC News
The government is to invest £400m in its plans to expand free childcare for working parents in England from April.
The Department For Education (DfE) has also announced an increase in funding rates for nursery places.
Its hourly rates available to providers will be £11. 22 for under-twos, £8. 28 for two-year-olds, and £5. 88 for three and four-year-olds.
Providers called it a " welcome increase" but said demand for places could soon outstrip capacity.
The expansion was announced In the Budget earlier this year, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the current scheme offering some families 30 free hours of childcare per week would be.
It was intended to help 60,000 more parents of young children back into the workforce.
Eligible working parents of three and four-year-olds already receive 30 hours a week of government-funded childcare.
From April, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of funded childcare.
And from September, this offer will be extended to children aged Nine Months and above, increasing to 30 hours from September 2025.
Eligibility depends on each parent or carer earning More Than the equivalent of 16 hours at The National Living Wage per week.
And the government said its increases from April 2024 reflected.
In September, hourly funding rates increased from an average of:
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the government was " making sure parents no longer have to choose between a career and a family".
But childcare providers in England have long raised concerns over funding not matching demand for places.
Over the summer, An Education Select Committee report found underfunding had left the sector.
Robin Walker , who chairs The Committee , said the childcare market faced significant challenges in " affordability and availability". And new funding rates would have to " accurately reflect the costs of providing high-quality early education and childcare" if the government was to successfully extend The Number of free hours available to parents.
Nicola Fleury, who owns the Kidzrus Nursery Group, in Salford, Greater Manchester , said four of her five nurseries were already close to capacity.
" We're going to have to look around at where we can accommodate these places. I just hope that for some settings it isn't too little, Too Late , " She Said .
" It is a very welcome increase but I just hope it makes a real impact. "
Early Years Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch also said the funding increase was " welcome" but " still likely to fall short of what the sector needs to successfully deliver the 30-hours expansion in the long term".
" With the start of the expansion just months away, it remains to be seen whether there is any hope of this policy actually working in practice, " he added.
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Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com
