Conservative childcare plans unveiled
Parents know what is best for their children and should be given more control over how they are cared for, Conservative leader Michael Howard said today.
They should be able to choose how they spend childcare tax credits – for example by hiring an au pair or nanny, or paying their friends – and how they spend maternity leave payments, he added.
Both he and Mr Blair are trying to win parents’ votes today by setting out their plans for childcare.
This afternoon the Prime Minister will explain how Labour wants to build on its record expansion in nursery places by making care more flexible.
He is expected to set out the contribution of childcare to Labour’s new focus on creating an “opportunity society”. And he will promise to put an end to “latch-key” kids by providing affordable, school-based childcare for all primary school children between 8am and 6pm.
In a major speech, Mr Howard outlined measures to give control back to families, including making it easier for grandparents to become registered as childminders.
He said grandparents had already brought up their own children, and should not have to take the entire standard course to register – instead they would be able to take a specially tailored programme.
He also pledged to put parents “in the driving seat” by reforming Labour’s childcare tax credits, which he said were “bureaucratic and “restrictive”.
“Parents will be able to choose how to spend it – they’ll be in the driving seat. They can spend it on the childcare they want – not the childcare ministers think is best. It might be an au pair or even family and friends,” he said.
Parents might also qualify for tax relief on the cost of childcare, he added.
The Daycare Trust praised Labour and the Conservatives for making parental choice their focus, but said they must ensure parents could choose childcare that was convenient to them and backed up with proper funding.
Director Stephen Burke said: “Parents want real choices. Parents need more help with the costs of childcare and need better childcare services close to where they live. That will require substantial investment by government.”
The Conservatives would also look at whether women on maternity leave would like more control over their maternity payments, allowing them to concentrate the payments over a six-month period.
However, Mr Howard warned against making employers pay all the cost of maternity provision, saying it would be “uneconomic” and “unfair” and would actually damage the employment prospects of women.
