Expensive and bad childcare stops parents returning to work

A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission looking into the current provision of good quality childcare has been launched.

Childcare Matters: Improving Choices and Chances for Parents and Children is part of the Commission’s Working Better project.

The report found that one in five parents who pays for childcare struggles to meet the cost, particularly lone parents.

In England, 28 per cent of non-working parents say they do not work due to the inadequate childcare provision available.

The report also finds that families with incomes of more than £45,000 took advantage of formal childcare, compared to just 31 per cent those with incomes below £10,000

The rich poor divide continues, with Ofsted finding the quality of childcare is poorer in the most disadvantaged areas.

Baroness Margaret Prosser, deputy chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “When getting people back into work is a government priority, consideration of what those with young children do with them is a major issue. Any reduction in support for childcare costs could compound some of the access to work issues highlighted in today’s report.
 
“Higher costs to already financially stretched parents will create a disincentive to work. Proposed welfare changes need to be underpinned by affordable childcare; and we need to see welfare reform and childcare provision as two sides of the same coin.
 
“This is also about improving children’s life chances and social mobility. Those with the most to gain are the least likely to have access to high quality, affordable childcare. As this report makes all too clear, that’s a missed opportunity to have a positive impact on a child’s long-term learning and development.”