Childcare Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. That is why it is so important that we have invested £17 billion in early years provision and child care provision over the past eight years. We intend to put more funding into child care, both through the extended schools, to which I have just referred, and through Sure Start centres, setting up such a centre in every community in Britain. That investment was opposed every step of the way by the Conservatives. Britain’s hard-working families need that investment. As family patterns change, with more women working, families need their Government to support them, not a Government who would tell the 1 million and more women in work since 1997 that it would be better if the social clock were turned back a couple of decades. Our aim is always to support parents as they try to make the right decisions for their children, rather than to pretend that the Government know best. That is why we believe that there is no excuse for the do-nothing policies that faced families in the Tory years. Simply shouting ““Nanny state”” at any measures to support families will not work in the modern world. Our achievements since 1997, although substantial, do not go far enough. Sixty years on from the Attlee Government, who did so much to establish the welfare state, we must extend its frontiers to embrace the greater opportunities and to confront the bigger challenges of the modern world. Our ““Every Child Matters”” programme and the Children Act 2004 have put children and their safety and well-being where they should be—centre stage. The Bill takes that forward and focuses specifically on the early years of childhood. It places a duty on local authorities to improve outcomes for all young children. Every child should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.