Childcare Bill [Lords]

Chloe Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 25th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith (Norwich North) (Con)]

I rise to give some reasons why I welcome the Bill. First, it goes to the heart of what I am sure constituents in every part of the country say to us, whether they are already working and want more security against the costs of the childcare they currently pay for, or are in a couple and want to be able to get into work or back to work, but find that the costs of childcare mean that it is just not worth it. I have spoken to scores of Norwich parents and childcare providers who welcome the Bill for those reasons. I am proud that the childcare provision was an election manifesto pledge. The Bill will help parents considerably by doubling from 15 to 30 the number of hours of free childcare that they can access.

If we get this right, it will have a transformative effect for many people. Parents will be able to manage their household finances more easily and will now be able to choose to go to work. Some parents might be able to change their career if they wish because they have this backing behind them. We will see a benefit for the children who will be able to get more high-quality early years education; I, too, want to see an emphasis on quality as much as quantity in the Bill. We will also see a benefit for local businesses and local economies, as the workforce will be better supported, less stressed and more resilient. Employees will be altogether more able to take advantage of the opportunities that they wish to. Local businesses— nurseries and childcare providers—will also be able to grow to meet this demand and to employ more local people.

We have to get the legislation right. I want to give a few examples from my constituency and from the county of Norfolk. Norfolk County Council’s 2014 childcare sufficiency assessment and more recent surveys show that with household incomes in Norfolk lower than the national average the biggest concern for families is the cost of childcare. Research shows that there is already a large private voluntary and independent sector in Norfolk, although the county does not necessarily attract the large national chains. Childminder numbers are coming down and recruitment is a challenge for some settings.

The quality of childcare provision in Norfolk is higher than the national average, which is very much to be welcomed, and 94% of Norfolk parents are happy with their current childcare although they report some dissatisfaction with affordability, accessibility and availability. Norfolk parents want to use childcare. Nearly eight out of 10 parents of eligible two-year-olds have taken up that provision, compared with six out of 10 nationally. Credit should be given where it is due to Norfolk County Council for having promoted the scheme well and for having been able to respond to demand by creating more than 2,000 free places for eligible two-year-olds in one year.

There is a surplus of places for two-year-old funded children in Norfolk overall, with deficits in certain pockets of the county, but there is a widespread shortage of funded places for three to four-year-olds. The county council estimates that places are still required for more than 3,600 two-year-olds and more than 18,700 three to four-year-olds. In Norwich North, specifically, demand outstrips supply for places for two-year-olds and three to four-year-olds. For example, recent figures suggest that there are about 560 childcare places available in the Catton Grove, Mile Cross and Sewell areas of my constituency, but 1,200 three and four-year-olds. In other words, there is a shortfall of half the number of places needed.

As in many constituencies around the country, there is housing growth to come to the north of Norwich and the nought to five population is rising. Quite naturally, demand is likely to rise still further with this doubling of the free hours. In many ways, this is an opportunity, and that is the theme of my speech. There is an opportunity to be grasped in local economies such as Norwich so we can do this well for parents.

Let me add some thoughts from constituents who contacted me. One constituent talks about there also being a shortage of out-of-school care. Of course, that relates to children who, in some cases, might be older than those about whom we are talking, but her comments apply to parents facing all types of childcare shortages. She says that the local childminders are all full, with waiting lists, and that the local school has increased its intake and that its breakfast and after-school clubs do not provide enough places for the total number of pupils at the school. She asks, “How is that sufficient?” She wrote:

“I work for the NHS as a nurse working with disabled children. I am going to struggle severely to be able to continue doing any of this type of shift work. I love the work I do. However, my son has to come first and with no option of childcare I will have no option to leave… If you can influence the provision of after schools provision that would be great for many parents.”

Another parent, who faces having to give up her new job, told me that

“having exhausted all avenues including the NCC website, Facebook groups, online services, Sure Start centre, playgroups and even the school itself we are left with either my giving up my job or trying to move our child…The situation in this area is desperate and I feel that I am being penalised for having to work full time.”

We have a huge opportunity to get this right for working parents, particularly those of three and four-year-olds, which is what we see in the Bill. It is an opportunity for parents, children and our local economies. In my constituency, we need more providers to come forward with more places. I have convened a local action group, bringing together the council, with its statutory responsibilities, the local further education college, as a workforce training provider, the chamber of commerce, major employers, existing providers and the National Day Nurseries Association, to ask how we can encourage greater supply in Norwich. We have to consider that question alongside the Bill. We have two years to get this right. We all want to get it right. Parents need us to get it right.

In Norwich, we are looking at some of the obvious concerns, such as the availability of suitable premises and land in an urban area and the funding settlement. I welcome the higher funding settlement announced today, and I want the message to go out loud and clear to childcare businesses in Norwich that this is their chance to serve their local economy by doing business in this area. I also expect the council to reconsider its funding model, some of the detail of which it has recently changed—for example, how it applies funding to different types of setting. I note, as well, that it spends nearly 9% of its early-years funding centrally rather than passing it to providers. That is too high. By comparison, Cornwall spends 0.3% centrally and Lincolnshire 2.9%. It can be done, therefore, and those costs should be brought down. I urge the council to consider that.

The group I am convening will work together in five areas: first, we will co-operate with schools as they plan for their intakes; secondly, we want to co-operate with local authorities on their development and housing planning—neighbourhood plans, business rates, the community infrastructure levy and the use of existing buildings and land; thirdly, we want to work with business and inward investment organisations—the larger chains, which have not yet seen the opportunity there, should come to sunny Norfolk and see the investment opportunities there; fourthly, we want to work with local education providers on a training offer to meet the necessary demand; and finally—this is my call throughout my contribution—we must raise awareness. We must grasp this opportunity. We would let down parents, children and our local economies if we did not grab it, so let the message go out that childcare is an exciting opportunity and the Government are doing what they can to deliver for parents and children.

In conclusion, I have laid out some of the characteristics of childcare in Norfolk, particularly in my constituency. I am leading action on behalf of parents in my constituency who need this childcare, but there is much more to do. I thoroughly support the Bill. It will pave the way for parents to go into work, for local businesses to grow and for children to benefit from good-quality early education. Childcare is a foundation in the lives of the parents and their children, and it lets people build their dreams. We should see the Bill accordingly.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tristram Hunt]

I am arguing not about reduction in quality, but for an improvement in it. I understand the point about doubling the provision, but when there is such ingrained inequality in our society and such disadvantage in so many communities, surely the quality of provision needs to improve.

We know that investment in the early years is about more than just announcing more childcare. The Government have repeatedly ignored, cut and deprioritised a huge part of the infrastructure for early years education. Time and again, children’s centres, a huge part of this country’s early years architecture, have come under assault from the Government. The previous Labour Government tried to make Sure Start centres and early years an essential part of the welfare state. This Government’s ambition to dismantle the welfare state means stripping away one of the elements that are such a civilising part of our society, with more and more centres being forced to close and drastically cut back their services owing to inadequate funding.

There were no announcements today for funding for children’s centres or support for the early intervention grant. According to the Children’s Society, when the early intervention grant, which funds children’s centres, was introduced, its total value was around £3.2 billion in today’s prices. However, by 2015, the value of the grant has been more than halved to around £1.4 billion. By the end of 2015-16, the allocation provided to local authorities through the revenue support grant will have been cumulatively reduced by £6.8 billion compared with funding for comparator services before the Budget in 2010.

Overall, local authorities in England reduced spending on children’s centres and young people’s and family support services by some £718 million in real terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. That amounts to cumulative spending reductions of more than £1.5 billion. With local authority budgets coming under extra pressure, the outlook for children’s centres is bleak.

The Government do not like this figure, but over the past five years more than 700 centres have been closed. We know that effective early intervention does not begin at the age of three, but with antenatal classes, drop-in health clinics and open access provision. It begins with teaching parents the importance of bonding and attachment. If anything, those first years of a child’s life are the most important for child development. The more we discover about neurological development and the growth of the brain in those early months and years, the more startling it is that the Government have piled on the cuts for the earliest years. They are not serious about tackling disadvantage and inequality. If they were, they would not be making all the cuts in that area. It is no wonder that great charities like Teach First say that poor kids do worse under this Government, and it is no wonder that we see the effects of that in our education system. The Government’s record on protecting the architecture and delivery of early-years education over the past five years is wholly lamentable.

The Labour Government protected the entire education budget, including the crucial early intervention grants that were part of our election promise. This Government protected only schools. Today’s announcement about sixth-form and further education is welcome, but it really means an 8% cut in those budgets over the coming five years. Despite the global financial crash, and with the help of the Sure Start architecture, we slashed child poverty by 900,000 during our time in office. That is what Labour Governments do: that is what progressive Governments do. On the basis of the latest figures from the Resolution Foundation, we know that we shall see child poverty rocket under this Government. Time and again, the early years have been deprioritised.

Labour Members have an enduring commitment to the emancipatory power of early-years education. We believe that it is the most effective way of narrowing the achievement gap so that no children are left behind when they take their first steps inside a reception classroom. We are—I am—supportive of working families—

[Chloe Smith]

Does that that suggest that there is a division?

[Tristram Hunt]

No! We are all united in this House on the need for measures to help working families and raise maternal employment rates. However, we need a much richer, deeper and more sophisticated focus on the quality of early-years provision, and on what it can do to tackle inequality and disadvantage.