As a parent of two children, I’m well aware of how cripplingly expensive childcare is – especially for pre-school children. Last month, our Conservative team put forward a proposal to help families with the cost of childcare.

Families who move from England to Monmouthshire are often shocked to discover they lose access to 30 hours of free childcare from nine months old - a benefit now available across the border. In Wales childcare support is much more limited and only begins at the age of three.

Rising childcare costs are a barrier to employment, a strain on household finances and a source of deep frustration for parents who simply want to work and raise their children without facing costs that in many cases exceed their mortgage. One councillor shared that a friend pays £1,500 a month for just one child and that’s not unusual.

Following the Chancellor’s disastrous budget, inflation is once again out of control and it’s making us all poorer. The cost of living forces many families to make difficult decisions about what they can afford.

That’s why my Conservative colleagues and I brought forward a motion calling on the Welsh Government to match the childcare entitlement in England. The debate was led by my colleague Cllr Lisa Dymock and I’m proud to say that councillors of all parties unanimously backed our call.

We welcomed the cross-party support, including from Labour councillors who acknowledged the urgency of the issue. I’m pleased to report that the Council has now sent a letter to the Welsh Government asking for consideration of a more generous policy.

As parties prepare their own platforms for the Senedd election next year, I’m delighted that the Welsh Conservatives have already confirmed that they would match the more generous childcare offer in England and I hope other parties will follow suit.

Improving childcare is not just about helping families, it’s about strengthening our economy, supporting childcare providers and giving children the best start in life. There’s no reason why families this side of the border should have less generous provision.

In reality it’s probably too late for the current Welsh Government to act on this but it’s been an unfair situation for many years and successful Labour Ministers in the Senedd have done nothing about it – but ahead of the Senedd election, I hope all parties will pledge to support families by improving childcare provision.