The report sets out steps for the government to adopt that will eventually boost economic growth, starting with increasing funding for free hours of childcare and extending an offer of 30 hours to all three and four-year-olds. Other steps include:
- Extending 15 free hours to all two-year-olds, with eligibility beginning from the end of paid parental leave.
- Increasing funded hours for two-year-olds and under two-year-olds.
- Extending wraparound care from 8am to 6pm to more schools and offering a variety of after-school activities through term time.
The report is endorsed by Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who has already committed the next Labour Government to introducing fully funded breakfast clubs for every primary school in England, as a first step on the road to a modern childcare system that works for all parents. Labour’s intervention comes as the spiralling cost of childcare under the Conservatives, in addition to rising food, fuel and housing costs, is increasingly forcing growing numbers of parents out of work and seeing more children missing out on additional learning and enriching activities.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “We very much welcome this ground-breaking research. It not only sets out the benefits for working parents, especially women who face huge challenges balancing work with caring responsibilities, but also spells out the wider benefits to society and economic growth.
“Not having enough childcare risks reversing decades of progress women have made in the labour market and increasing the gender pay gap. Usdaw’s surveying of members found that working families have been particularly severely affected by the cost of living crisis. With budgets tightening, childcare is becoming increasingly unaffordable. 82% of parents said they felt financially worse off now than they did this time last year and that is only set to get worse.
“The majority of low-paid key workers are women. These essential roles have been undervalued and underpaid for too long. Women workers need decent pay, along with more affordable and available childcare. They need new family friendly rights that give parents and carers real choices to support juggling work and family life. A comprehensive childcare provision is essential to support working parents.
“As part of any new deal for workers we need urgent and substantial reform to address the long-running childcare challenge. So we also welcome Labour’s commitment to a new system to give children the best start in life and parents choices, enabling them to get back into work or to increase their hours and give our economy the growth we need. It clearly shows that Labour is on the side of working people struggling to make ends meet while bringing up a family.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
IPPR and Save the Children - Delivering a childcare guarantee: https://www.ippr.org/files/2022-12/delivering-a-childcare-guarantee-dec-22.pdf
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
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