Nursery World - Why this Government is in a mess on childcare

Lucy Powell, Labour’s shadow education secretary, promises strong action on childcare policy

The Government’s childcare policy is in a real mess. With broken promises to parents on Tax-Free Childcare and more questions than answers on its flagship 30-hour offer, ministers are hiding their heads in the sand.

I support any further investment in childcare and was pleased to see the Government ape our offer for increasing the amount of free childcare for families at the election. However, I knew at the time the Government would have a real problem with delivery because of the amount of money it allocated to its new 30-hour pledge for working parents, much less than we’d budgeted for our own 25-hour expansion. In its rush for headline-grabbing measures, it seems that good governance went out of the window.

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