Childcare Bill

I suppose that there is a difference of opinion. I have not had the experience of being in opposition as a Member of Parliament—[Interruption]—and I do not plan to experience that for some years hence, but I would have thought that coherence was an important aim for a member of the Opposition. The problem that the hon. Gentleman highlights about the position of non-working parents is answered in part by Sure Start, which makes services available to them. If he is saying that full-time day care should be provided for non-working parents, that may be a step further down the road. I do not think that there are resources available at this point to do that. That was the only point that I was making. I hope that it was not a lacuna and that if it was, he will explain precisely why afterwards. I want to highlight the issue of quality, to which I referred earlier. It is a great irony that teachers of the over-5s require all kinds of qualifications—there is cross-party consensus on that—while care and education for the under-5s, who are more fragile and vulnerable, and for whom supervision is arguably even more important, have not been seen as a profession in the same way. I therefore welcome clause 13 and its new duty to provide information, advice and training to providers. That is part of the greater professionalisation of the work force envisaged in the 10-year plan which is essential to give parents the confidence of high quality, and which will work in combination with Ofsted inspection and the new transformation fund to improve quality. The Bill has many other positive aspects but, as I have made clear, the central and important step forward is the fact that, 60 years after Beveridge, we are making the provision of child care into a proper and legitimate duty of Government. That is more than a commitment to resources. In the 19th century, primary education for all was accepted as a responsibility of Government; in the 20th century, secondary education for all was accepted as the responsibility of Government. The Bill recognises that at the start of the 21st century we are embarking—I emphasise the word ““embarking””—on a journey down a road on which pre-school provision for all will become a clear responsibility of Government. Labour Members can easily accept that, because we think that Government, working alongside the private and voluntary sector, can help to expand freedom and does not necessarily stifle individuals."““The welfare state contributes to people’s freedom and enterprise. It is people who are secure, that dare to try their wings.””" That was said by Göran Persson, the Prime Minister of Sweden. Nowhere is it more true than in child care. That is the ethos at the heart of the Bill. I am glad that the Opposition support the Bill, but the warning to them is that if they will the ends—better child care—they had better support the means, and abandon their previous commitment to reducing public expenditure as a proportion of national income. As both leadership candidates remain committed to a smaller state we can already see contradictions emerging in their position, which we will expose over the coming months. In the meantime, I commend the Bill to the House.