Very soon, primary school children will be entitled to full-day care, but there is not enough capacity. The state is now releasing more money to expand the care.
The state wants to give municipalities more support in expanding all-day care at primary schools. Starting this year, a three-digit million amount will be made available annually for the next six years to clear the backlog of applications for the expansion. This is stated in a letter from the coalition leaders to the state municipal associations on Tuesday.
In 2022, the federal and state governments decided on a legal right to all-day care in primary schools, which will be introduced gradually. From the 2026/2027 school year, the regulation will apply to children in the 1st grade, and from 2029/2030 to all grades.
Money also for clinics
At the budget committee meeting, the Greens and the CDU also agreed to support hospitals with state funds amounting to 150 million euros this year. The money will be used for digitization and investments. This support will be reviewed for 2025.
For the accommodation and integration of refugees, the state plans to pass on the federal funds amounting to 230 million euros in full to the municipalities in 2024; in 2025 and 2026, only half of the federal subsidies will be passed on.
The plans for the double budget are to be finalized by the budget committee on Friday. Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) praised the coalition partners’ agreement and spoke of “tough” negotiations. “We went to the extreme,” he said. “We squeezed every lemon we found.”
