From now on, parents will have the right to free daycare in the private sector, when there are no vacancies in the social and solidarity network in the area of ​​their parish of residence. Until now, this only happened when there were no places in the social and solidarity network in the area of ​​the municipality of residence.

“The Minister of Labour, Solidarity, and Social Security approved new measures that aim to expand the possibilities of choice for families in the existing offer of support for children up to the age of three”, announced the office of Rosário Palma Ramalho.

Among these new measures is the aforementioned flexibility in access to public daycare centers, which will “allow for a reduction in travel between work, daycare and home” and “improve the quality of family life”, argues the Government.

Another measure is complementary public financing for private daycare centers, when they “practice opening hours beyond 11 hours a day, under the same terms that daycare centers in the social and solidarity sector already benefit from”.

“These measures fall within the scope of policies to promote birth rates and encourage families to have more children, ensuring reconciliation between work, personal and family life”, highlights the Ministry of Labour.