Everyone knows it can be very difficult juggling work time with family life.
No two families are the same. Some are able to and decide to have a parent be full-time at home for longer; for others the right, or only realistic, decision is to return to the paid workplace sooner. Some may be able to call on the support of grandparents or other family members, while others cannot.
Flexibility is more important than ever. Employers – who need to attract the full range of talent – have got much better at ensuring that where possible flexible working arrangements are available.
But the juggling is still difficult – and financially it can be difficult too to make the sums work.
It is right that families be supported in making the choice that’s right for them, at the time that’s right for them. And from the economy viewpoint, it’s important, too, that “workforce participation” as it’s known in the jargon, is enabled for all who want to and are ready.
And of course childcare isn’t only about parents. It is about a child’s development and early education. What happens in nursery or another childcare setting complements family and home.
I know how important quality, affordable, local childcare is to so many young families in East Hampshire.
From this month, the support available is growing, building on previous work.
Under the 2010-24 governments, there were five major extensions to childcare entitlements.
We increased the entitlement to 15 hours free childcare per week in term-time for three- and four-year-olds, and later doubled this to 30 hours for working families. We added 15 hours of early education for disadvantaged two-year-olds.
We also introduced tax-free childcare. And we supported those who needed it most by ensuring a higher proportion of childcare costs could be reclaimed through Universal Credit.
We have also been expanding ‘wraparound’ childcare for primary age children – before and after school, typically 8am to 6pm, including breakfast clubs.
At different times, I had responsibility as a minister for each of the main programmes: for tax-free childcare when I was at the Treasury, Universal Credit when I was at DWP and the others at the Department for Education.
But we knew there was more to do to support families in their choices.
The biggest extension of all started in April this year, when eligible working parents could start to access 15 hours funded childcare for their two-years-old child.
Right now, this month, 15 hours childcare support is being extended to eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months.
Hours entitlements are in term-time (38 weeks of the year), but you can also get support across up to 52 weeks if you use fewer than your total hours per week.
I’d encourage parents to look at childcarechoices.gov.uk to see what is available to you. And you can see the ‘wraparound’ programmes locally on the Hampshire County Council web site.
Looking to the near future, our fully-costed plan was to extend even further, so that eligible working parents of children from 9 months to school age will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week in term-time, from this time next year. I have recently written to the new government calling on them to honour this.
