Overview

• The fertility rate in England and Wales dropped to 1.44 children per woman in 2023, the lowest level since records began in 1938.
• In a Daily Telegraph article, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson cited high housing, food and childcare costs as key factors deterring young people from starting families and called for earlier parenthood.
• Since May, working parents of children aged nine months and older have been eligible for up to 30 hours of free childcare per week until their children reach school age.
• The government is set to open nearly 200 new nursery rooms in schools by September, exceeding its target of 4,000 additional childcare places.
• The Office for Budget Responsibility warned that persistently low birth rates could drive up national debt over the next 50 years and increase reliance on migration to sustain population levels.