Government urged to extend free childcare to allow parents to work

The ability to work is vital in helping to lift the most disadvantaged families out of poverty. But cuts to child benefit and the impending introduction of Universal Credit look set to make it harder for parents to afford the childcare they need to get back into employment.

A report by Barnardo’s, published earlier this month, called on the government to increase the proportion of childcare costs that will be covered through Universal Credit from 70 to 80 per cent.

The charity also wants ministers to consider extending the free childcare entitlement from 15 hours to 20, or more for the most disadvantaged children.

Such an extension would “give parents the opportunity to enter jobs that lead to career progression, rather than having to take part-time jobs at the minimum wage that trap people into low-paid work,” says Neera Sharma, Barnardo’s assistant director of policy and research.

The London borough of Camden is one of several councils taking the lead on the issue. It has announced plans to provide 25 hours of free childcare a year to all three- and four-year-olds. At a cost of £1.1m, the council hopes to provide the extra 10 hours, on top of the statutory 15-hour duty, for at least two years.

Salford City Council is also offering 25 hours of free childcare for the same age group within its school nurseries. More radical still, Kirklees Council said last year that it would give all unemployed parents 25 hours of free childcare for children up to the age of 14.

Camden Council’s lead member for children, Angela Mason, says the authority wants to help families who are suffering as a result of cutbacks in wider support, including child benefit.

“We are determined to give all our children the best start in life,” she says. “Our primary schools believe that full-time nursery provision is key to children’s development and, of course, it gives parents, particularly mothers, the opportunity to take up work or training.”

Additional places
Funded through primary school budgets, Camden’s offer is available at children’s centres, primary schools and nursery schools, and provides an additional 800 places.

The model in Salford is similar. The council has been offering 25 hours of free childcare to parents for more than a decade, but pressure on local budgets had raised questions over whether the scheme could be maintained.

“Changes to the funding formula placed another £2m requirement on the schools budget and put the offer under pressure,” explains Paula Boshell, Salford’s assistant mayor.

The authority debated whether to restrict the extra 10 hours to children eligible for free school meals, those in disadvantaged areas, or get rid of it completely, but decided to guarantee funding for another year.

“We have been able to measure the benefits,” says Boshell. “We have very good school attendance, because the full-time nursery places have been getting children used to going to school at an early age.”

Anand Shukla, chief executive of the Daycare Trust, says that extending the free entitlement nationally should be the next step for the government.

“Fifteen hours is great, but it doesn’t allow you to hold down a part-time job,” he says. “We appreciate finances are tight, but as a direction of travel over the next few years we would like it to go up to 20 hours then to 25. Then it gives parents a fighting chance.”