Usdaw welcomes 30 hours a week free childcare and calls for it to be properly funded

Addressing delegate in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, Joanne Thomas - Usdaw general secretary said: “The struggle to make ends meet is a struggle faced by so many workers, because in recent years, we have lived through some extremely difficult times. From years and years of Tory austerity, to external pressures like the war in Ukraine, the Coronavirus pandemic and more recently the wars in the Middle East. As international events have moved around us, one thing has remained, the cost of living keeps going up and up. 
 
“Wages have been stretched thinner and thinner and finances for many have become more and more precarious. Rising prices on household bills, the cost of food, filling up your car, the price of rent, mortgage interest payments. It really is coming at us from every angle. For many families, their finances feel like a leaking bucket, no matter how hard they work to pour in their wages, they just keep draining away and there are serious consequences. 

“In this year's cost of living survey, sixty percent of members said that financial worries are having an impact on their mental health. That means that the majority of our members are so financially insecure that it is literally making them ill. This can't go on. Something HAS to change. That’s why we will keep pushing at every opportunity, for better support - targeted support – for low-paid workers, 

“With that in mind, for too long, the cost of childcare in the UK has been eye-watering. We have heard time and time again from our members that they cannot afford a nursery place, many families find they need to work opposite shifts to cover care or rely on grandparents.
 
“I am so proud that Labour in government have really tackled this issue, by providing 30 hours of free childcare per week for children aged nine months to four years. The support this gives to working parents, particularly working mothers, is immense. But for the quality of childcare we expect, proper funding is key. There have been several recent reports of childcare providers being forced to close due to a lack of funding, because the money provided to cover the extra hours, has just not been enough to meet increased costs such as rising wages and fuel bills.
 
“Working parents need access to childcare in every community, flexible childcare that suits their needs, and their child's needs. For this plan to work, it must be properly supported and funded. We need this to work for children, for parents, and for the economy.”