THE latest rollout of free childcare hours happened this month with 15 hours now available for working parents of two-year-olds in Stourbridge.

This is part of an up to £8 billion investment by the government over the next few years in helping families pay for the cost of childcare and help parents back in work if they choose. We have vacancies in the economy and parents not being able to afford to go back to work is a cost to the UK. It harms our productivity and ability to grow the economy so I think this is a good investment.

Already there is 30 hours of free childcare for three to four-year-olds and the government will continue the expansion in a phased way. In September this year 15 hours of free childcare for nine-month-olds is due and 30 hours free childcare for all under-fives is due to happen from September next year. There is an income cap of £100,000.

This is a considerable expansion and I anticipate providers will now start to supply the demand for places and I expect to see nursery and childminder numbers start to increase to meet that demand. I know the government is working to increase capacity and has phased the rollout to ensure this. Already there are 13,000 more staff working in the sector than last year and this is positive news for the private businesses that often run these services Parents need to apply and there is a link on the gov.uk website. Applications for the September entitlement are now open. I urge Stourbridge families to investigate whether they are eligible – nearly everyone will be – and take advantage of this generous support.

Local elections take place next month on May 2 for Dudley Council where all 72 seats are up for election, the West Midlands Mayor and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

I have been out campaigning to support my candidates and we have a good story to tell. However, my job is also to urge everyone to go out and vote. Our democracy is important and local elections have a direct influence on our lives. Many of our important services are delivered locally such as waste disposal, looking after our roads, potholes, schools and social care too.

Please remember everyone now needs to show photo ID to be able to vote. Free photo ID can be obtained from the council, if anyone doesn’t have the wide range of accepted photo ID like a passport, blue badge, defence identity card or a driving licence to name but a few.

As I said I will be out campaigning over the next few weeks. I really enjoy knocking on doors and speaking to people and I hope to see you on my travels.