Addressing a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference, Helen Goodman, whose brief includes child poverty, paid tribute to Labour peer and former children's minister Beverly Hughes for starting to drive towards an increase in the number of trained childcare professionals, but said more investment is needed.
She said: "We must promise to make a step change in the level of childcare provision in this country. We are trying to set up childcare arrangements that are good for children, but are also convenient for parents and that facilitate parents in getting back to work."
She said childcare was one of the major parts of the child poverty strategy under Labour, but said the country could do more. "We spend 0.3 per cent of our GDP on childcare. Denmark spends 0.6 per cent. If we value children this is the kind of big political choice we should be making. It also makes good economic sense. Women cannot be in the labour market, earning a proper income, storing up a pension, if we don't have good childcare.
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