The Petitions Committee, which made the recommendation within its follow-up report into the impact of Covid-19 on new parents last October, has expressed its disappointment over the Government’s response, which states that it ‘will not be launching an independent review of childcare at this time’.
Within the Committee’s report it made the following recommendations:
- Commission a review into the funding and affordability of childcare, backed by more than 113,000 petitioners, and look at how to provide greater security to the sector following the pandemic.
- Consult with parents on how to ensure childcare provision meets their needs and supports their return to work.
Within its response to the report, published today (Monday), the Government states, ‘The Department [for Education] is continuing to explore what more can be done to help parents access childcare which will suit them, that is out of hours or before or after school; however, we will not be launching an independent review of childcare at this time.
‘Parents also have a range of parental leave and pay rights, and, like all employees, can ask their employer for a flexible working arrangement. Alongside the steps we are taking on childcare provision, these employment rights may help new parents balance work and childcare.’
The Committee said it was disappointed by the response as it ‘contains no new commitments in response to the concerns raised and recommendations made in its report.
The Early Years Alliance said it was ‘not surprised’ by the Government’s inaction.
It also criticised the Government for failing to put anything in place in regard to its other recommendations, including:
- Non-committal to providing dedicated catch-up funding to deal with the backlog in parental mental health and health visiting services highlighted in the Committee’s report.
- Failing to set a timetable to strengthen redundancy protections for new and expectant mothers.
- Rejecting the recommendation that entitlements to employment leave and financial support for new parents be extended to groups that currently don’t have access to them, including self-employed adoptive parents.
‘This continued lack of action means new parents’ needs will continue to go unrecognised.’
Chair of the Petitions Committee, Catherine McKinnell MP, said, ‘Although most restrictions have now been lifted, the pandemic’s impact will continue to be felt for years to come – especially by new parents, for whom help was cut off when they most needed it.
‘The investment in family services in last Autumn’s Spending Review was welcome. But the Government’s failure to provide new catch-up funding for health visiting and parental mental health leaves new parents facing an accumulation of adversity without the support they deserve.
'The Government’s failure to make progress on stronger employment protections for new mothers, which it promised in its response to our previous report, is particularly troubling. Its continued refusal to extend parental leave and pay entitlements to all new parents and guardians is equally concerning.
‘This response is all the more disappointing as it is the second time the Government has turned a blind eye to the impacts we have highlighted. This continued lack of action means new parents’ needs will continue to go unrecognised and unmet, with long-term consequences for their wellbeing and their babies’ health and development.’
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘Years of Government underfunding have left nurseries, pre-schools and childminding settings struggling to remain financially sustainable, with many forced to increase fees and additional charges to stay afloat. None of this is news to Government.
‘As highlighted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, even with the increase in early years funding rates set to come into effect in April, early entitlement funding will still only see a real-terms increase of 3p an hour next year, and by 2023-24, is on track reach its lowest real terms level yet. In simple terms, this will mean higher childcare prices for parents already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, and more and more settings being forced to close their doors for good.
‘And while the Government continues to argue that the number of early years places available across the country has remained broadly stable over recent years, the fact remains that there are huge regional disparities, with some areas seeing as much as a 25 per cent fall in places over the past six years.’
- The full Government response is available here
