Nationwide childcare shortage means disadvantaged children missing out – but costs continue to rise
A nationwide childcare shortage is seeing the most disadvantaged children missing out, as the number of available places plummets.
In the last year, there has been a 7% drop in the number of English local authorities reporting sufficient childcare places for those aged under two, according to an annual survey by Coram Family and Childcare.
But as places decline, the cost has continued to rise and is now up 5.6% on 12 months ago. This means a part-time place (25 hours a week) for a child under two costs an average of £148.63 per week.
It is the most disadvantaged children at risk of missing out, with just one in five (18%) of local authorities reporting sufficient childcare for children with disabilities, a 3% decrease on last year.
Almost half (43%) of local authorities across Great Britain report that some, or many, of their childcare providers, have reduced the number of funded early education entitlement places they can provide.
In England, there has been a 6% drop in the proportion of local areas that have enough places for the universal 15-hour early education entitlement for three and four year olds.
These places are vital in narrowing the achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their peers, and there is concern they will miss out on this vital boost to their outcomes.
The report also highlights how widely childcare varies across the country.
The average weekly cost of a part-time place for a child under two is 54% higher in inner London (£199.01) than in Yorkshire and Humberside (£129.32). In outer London, just 28% of local authorities report having enough childcare for children under two, whilst the figure is 100% for the North East.
Labour’s childcare pledge
The report comes as Labour’s shadow education secretary will say today that reforming the broken childcare system will be her “first priority in government”.
During a speech to the centre-right think tank Onward, Bridget Phillipson is expected to say that Labour will not continue to throw taxpayers’ money at the current broken “jerry-built” system of free hours, which has seen struggling providers given less money by government than the Department for Education says it costs to deliver them.
“The childcare model the Conservatives have built fails everyone, denying parents the ability to work the jobs they’d like, to give their children the opportunities they’d like, and is not of the quality that staff want to provide.”
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“In the Britain the Conservatives will leave behind, tweaking the system we have will not deliver the ambition or scale of reform we are going to need.
“Labour’s missions must be central to breaking down the barriers to opportunity in this country. To break down those barriers, our Mission commits to reforming the childcare system: that will be my first priority.
Labour has previously said a failure to support providers is driving up prices for parents as nurseries and childminders seek to recoup losses with higher prices for paid-for childcare hours to stay afloat, though this has meant many have been forced to close altogether.
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Cost of childcare crisis
The extortionate costs of childcare are expected to become a flash point during the upcoming Budget, and more widely at the next General Election.
Some 96% of families with a child under three years old are more likely to vote for the party with the best childcare pledge and 98% of women using childcare think the government is not doing enough to support them, a survey from charity Pregnant Then Screwed has found.
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Three and four-year-olds in England attending a nursery or childminder are eligible for either 15 or 30 free hours a week depending on whether their parents work and there were suggestions the Treasury was considering expanding this to younger children.
But on Tuesday, children’s minister Claire Coutinho said there are no plans by the government to extend the 30 free hours of childcare a week beyond what is currently in place.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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