UK Parliament / Open data

Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I support the amendment. As a matter of fact, I have received a note from the TUC on this item. It says that its most pressing and significant concern is about the design of the universal credit and how it will reform support for childcare costs. It says that the Daycare Trust’s 2011 childcare cost survey found that in the past year childcare costs have increased by more than the average wage, and that the average yearly expenditure for 25 hours of nursery care per week for a child under two is more than £5,000 in England and Scotland and more than £4,700 in Wales. As has already been pointed out by the mover of the amendment, there is a substantial difference across various localities. At the time of writing, the Government’s final plans are still not clear. Until 6 April this year, the childcare element of working tax credit allowed for up to 80 per cent of the eligible costs—up to £175 a week for one child and £300 for more than one. This has been cut from 70 per cent of eligible costs up to the same limits. Until April, couples with one child in childcare would receive £140 support. The first option that the Government have in mind would reduce the maximum that they could receive to £87.50. The second option being considered by the Government would reduce the maximum to £80 for couples with more than one child in eligible childcare. Maximum support would fall from £240 in April 2010 to £147 in the first option and £120 in the second option. We would be grateful to know whether the Government have made up their mind on the couple of options that have apparently been under consideration. There has been some publicity recently, I am sad to say, about the fact that a number of women who already have jobs are considering giving them up and moving back to looking after their families at home because, they say, the childcare costs are too considerable for them to cope with. One hopes that this does not happen, particularly against the background of a lot of unemployment among women. The unemployment rates for women, which, as everyone knows, have been publicised in the past few days, have risen substantially, and we are very sorry to hear about that. It becomes even more necessary that the Government ensure that the childcare costs available to the working mother are sufficient for her to happily leave her family and her child at home in proper care and not give up her work in order to look after her children, which may be a pressure on her in the current economic circumstances. I support the amendment.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
730 c516-7GC 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords Grand Committee
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