Childcare Bill

My hon. Friend is right that, contrary to the claims made by the Secretary of State about child poverty, the gap has got wider under this Government, rather than improving. We recognise that affordable quality child care is one of the most important concerns for many hard-pressed working families today. Indeed, for some families, access to any child care is a problem. Quality child care and effective parental support are critical to ensuring that children reach their true potential, and that families are able to make the choices about their work-life balance that best suit them, although I recognise that, for many families, it is simply a question of being able to meet the increasing demands of paying their mortgage, tax and other household bills. For the sake of the children, we must get this right, and that is why we want to do our best to ensure that the Bill goes as far as possible towards helping children. However important the issues the of work-life balance might be, the outcomes for children are what really matter. We have a number of concerns about the Bill, and I shall outline them later. The Secretary of State mentioned the Work and Families Bill, which will come to the House in a week’s time. It will deal with work-life balance and parental leave, and this Bill deals with child care provision for those who are working. I am surprised that we are dealing with these issues in two separate Bills. Surely it would have made more sense for the Government to address them all together in one Bill, to ensure that we came up with joined-up legislation that works for children and families. I cannot help feeling that the presence of two Bills on these matters, led by two different Departments, reflects the fact that the Government have singularly failed to deliver the joined-up government that they promised. The challenge for the Government—and for us, working to be back in government—is to so manage the operations and working of government that it works for people and not for Ministers and civil servants. Alternatively, perhaps the chance to issue two press releases and to make two headlines carried more weight among the Government’s spin doctors than the needs of families.