Provision
House of Commons nursery 'wasted', says Labour MP
The new House of Commons nursery is the most expensive childcare setting in the country and should be opened up to the children of local families, a Labour MP has argued.
Is this the most expensive nursery in the country?
Roger Godsiff, MP for Birmingham Hall Green, claimed that the nursery, operated by the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), has only enrolled one child so far and that the Commons authorities had effectively wasted over £1m on the setting.
The 40-place nursery opened last month on the site of a former bar and cafeteria, known as Bellamy's Bar, situated on the first floor at Number 1 Parliament Street, opposite the Palace of Westminster (News, 1 September)
The nursery offers full daycare for the children of MPs, civil servants and other Westminster staff.
Mr Godsiff said that £480,000 had been spent on refurbishing the bar ahead of the authorities' decision and a further £510,000 had been spent on converting the bar into a nursery.
Introducing an early day motion last Tuesday, Mr Godsiff said that the decision to convert the bar had not been 'put to the House for debate or discussion'.
He said, 'Over £1m has been wasted, at a time of austerity, on an unwanted nursery which is, pro-rata to the number of children in it, the most expensive nursery in the country. The nursery should now be opened up to the children of families in Westminster and other boroughs close to the House of Commons.'
The motion is yet to be signed by any other MPs.
In a written parliamentary answer in July, the House of Commons Commission said 16 people, including six MPs, had expressed a 'firm interest' in the nursery places.
A spokesperson for LEYF said, 'We are absolutely delighted with the increasing level of interest in the nursery from a real diversity of parents at the House of Commons - and can’t wait for our official launch next month.'
