Child-care Ratios

Jonathan Ashworth Excerpts
Thursday 9th May 2013

(11 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Labour Members have not come up with any answers as to how they would incentivise nurseries to improve quality and staff salaries or how they would reduce costs in the system that they created, which is now one of the most expensive in the world.

Jonathan Ashworth Portrait Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
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I am aware that the Minister has long championed the policy of loosening the child-care ratios. Indeed, before she joined the Front-Bench team she was writing pamphlets about it. However, if she is so convinced of the merits of the policy, why will she not publish the Penn report, which her Department commissioned, and why has the Deputy Prime Minister let it be known in the past 24 hours that he does not support her pet policy?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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We will be publishing research when we publish the results of the Childcare Commission in due course.