Labour says Chancellor's plans to expand childcare are 'in absolute tatters'
Catherine Gaunt
Monday, March 4, 2024
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has claimed that the Government is ‘on track’ with its plans to expand childcare for parents, in response to Labour claims that it has a dossier that shows that the Conservatives’ plans are ‘in absolute tatters’.
Labour says its dossier reveals that more than 180,000 childcare places across England could be at risk from more than 3,000 nursery closures due to the Tories’ ‘botched’ childcare offer.
The dossier carries details of providers from across different regions of England warning of disappointment for parents due to a lack of places, lower quality early years education due to systemic underfunding and expressing anger at a Conservative commitment, which one nursery owner describes as written ‘on the back of a fag packet’.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson has written to the Chancellor to demand guarantees for parents that the childcare offer made in last year’s budget would be delivered as scheduled and without parents incurring additional charges, dubbing the offer a ‘pledge without a plan’.
The first stage of the Government's plans is due to start in April with the expansion of 15 hours of funded childcare for working parents of two-year-olds.
Phillipson said, ‘The Tories' childcare promise is in absolute tatters, with providers going out of business and parents being forced into debt to pay for childcare because of this botched pledge without a plan.
‘The Chancellor promised “the most significant improvements to childcare provision in a decade” – now the Conservatives risk crashing the early years system just like they crashed the economy.
‘Working parents must not pay the price of the Conservatives’ broken promises: Jeremy Hunt must now come to the House of Commons and guarantee that all parents will receive their entitlements on time and that no providers will be forced out of business.’
However, Mr Hunt told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that he believed the Government was ‘on track’ with the ‘huge change’ being offered in childcare provision.
‘It may mean that we need to employ 40,000 more people in the sector and that is why we are bringing it in stages,’ he said.
When pressed as to whether he would guarantee that he would be able to deliver the first stage of the expansion from next month the Chancellor said, ‘You will understand why I don’t want to give an absolute guarantee.
‘But am I confident that we are delivering this programme and it will be on track for this April? Yes, I am.’
Labour cited comments from nursery owners in its dossier, which follows major surveys of early years providers by the National Day Nurseries Association and the Early Years Alliance, which were published last week. Campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed also carried out a survey of parents, claiming that for a third of parents, the expanded ‘childcare’ offer will save them less than £100 a month due to charges for extras and increased fees.
Claire Richmond from Goslings Nursery in Coventry, said, ‘I feel really angry! At no point did the Conservative Government engage with the sector over their idea. It was a vote grabbing promise, written on the back of a fag packet!
‘My biggest concern is that the fact our rates are fixed by the LA, once we can no longer deliver it, we are essentially forced to go bust! My nursery was established in 1990 and employs 17 staff, 10 of which have over 20 years’ experience in early years each. If we go bust, those excellent practitioners are lost to the sector forever and for what? A badly researched, nonsensical, election promise?
‘Rates need to be indexed to annual minimum wage increases. We need 12 months’ notice of rates from the local authority to assist in cash flow forecasting, ensuring it’s viable to remain in business and continue to offer a service.’
Gerry Garvey, owner of Muddy Boots Nursery in Cumbria, said, ‘The offer of funded places for two-year-old children in principle is a really good idea, however the idea has not been fully costed or thought through and has not taken in account the views of the sector or the recommendations that they have provided.
‘The current rollout in April will see a lot of disappointed parents unable to claim as there are a lack of nursery places, due to systemic underfunding and lack of staff to provide the places.
‘Thought would also need to given in how initiatives are introduced to keep staff in the sector, which would enable settings to provide more places, the current offer of getting staff into the sector is unrealistic and an insult to existing practitioners.’
Lisa from Abacus Nursery and Childcare said, ‘I am fortunate that my nursery is busy however with the new entitlement from April this has meant that more families will access funding to cover more hours. I have now also closed my books for the academic year 2024/25 to ensure that we can meet the demand for families.
‘This means in essence that we are able to take less children, less income due to the fact that the funding rate does not cover our costs so sustainability in the long run will be threatened.
‘Different scenarios will have to be mapped out such as reducing the number of funded places we offer, increasing fees for our extended services such as Breakfast and Afterschool club to try and minimize the loss of earnings.
‘We are a sector in crisis, we want to care and educate the youngest children but it is becoming increasingly more difficult.’
