Expanding childcare hours without reforming the system won’t close the attainment gap between wealthy and disadvantaged children
Childcare is not a domestic problem, or a women’s problem: it’s an economic problem. This was the subtext of a recent announcement from the Confederation of British Industry, which has called on the government to extend free childcare to relieve labour shortages. The Treasury is now considering a huge expansion in free childcare hours as part of its attempt to get more people into work. Senior Tories have pressured Jeremy Hunt ahead of the chancellor’s spring statement to cut the costs of childcare, which are among the highest in Europe. Reducing these costs and providing more childcare hours is essential, but focusing only on its benefits to employment would be a missed opportunity.
The current system is based on a byzantine set of policies. Two-year-olds from low-income families are entitled to 15 weekly hours of free childcare. Most children aged three to four with two working parents get 30 free hours. Parents can also access up to £2,000 a year, per child, by paying money into an account topped up by the government. Almost two-thirds of take-home pay can be spent on putting a two-year-old in nursery. Even parents on higher salaries are justifiably angry, but the situation is worse for poorer families. Working parents on universal credit can get up to 85% of childcare costs reimbursed, but this is paid in arrears, forcing some into a cycle of debt. Nurseries also charge extra fees that can be prohibitively expensive. It’s no wonder that many low-income families don’t use formal childcare at all.
