Free nursery care from Jan 1 - Gualtieri

(ANSA) - Rome, November 12 - The "great majority" of Italian families will have free nursery care from the first of January thanks to the 2020 budget, Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said on Tuesday.
    This will be thanks to a "boosting" of an existing nursery bonus for low earners, he said.
    The measure, Gualtieri said, was "important also from the standpoint of female employment".
    He said "there had been talk of the measure since September but it will be triggered on January 1." Nursery school places were "insufficient" today, especially in the South of Italy, Gualtieri said.
    Places would be increased. he said.
    Over the course of the next three years, he said, the budget will earmark 2.8 billion euros more for families.
    Deputy Economy Minister Antonio Misiani said last month that 2020 budget bill would feature a measure granting low and medium income households free nursery care for their children starting in September.