Mum’s the word

Whenever I speak out, as I frequently do, championing working parents and the contribution they make to businesses, the economy and to society, I’m struck by the number of parents who get in touch to tell their story.

They all start the same. Mums, and it is still mainly mums, who took a career break but now find it incredibly difficult to get back to work a few years later. Potential lost, life-time earning hit and families struggling to get by as the cost-of-living crisis bites. Research from Fawcett and the Resolution Foundation shows the motherhood pay and status penalty that mothers face when they come out of the Labour market.

The lack of affordable high quality flexible childcare is acting as a drag on the number of mums who want to work or work more hours. That’s why our maternal employment rates compare badly against the best in the OECD. There’s a social and economic cost to this gap in family aspirations and reality.

Families are caught by Cameron’s childcare crunch. Prices have risen 30% since 2010, five times faster than wages. Childcare places have fallen at the same time as Ministers have slashed tax credit support to half a million families making it more difficult for hard-pressed mums and dads to find and afford childcare.

New analysis from the House of Commons library that we’re publishing today shows that Labour’s childcare plans could help 135,000 mums get back to work or work more hours. Boosting family income, maternal employment rates and giving mothers an opportunity to get on.

Labour’s pledges for extending free childcare for three and four year olds with working parents from 15 to 25 hours will give a real boost to mums either shut out of the labour market or who want to work more hours but are deterred by sky-high childcare costs.

We will also give a legal guarantee to parents with primary-aged children that they can access before and after-school childcare through their school, helping parents to manage the logistical nightmare of before and after school care that fits in with work.

As the IPPR have shown, affordable flexible childcare can help mums into work or increase their hours, helping family budgets and providing a boost to the exchequer. We see already a number of Labour councils including Camden offering 25 hours free care to parents because they see the benefits this can bring.

Labour’s plans will make a difference for families. Mums and dads will be better off with Labour. This message is going down well on the doorstep, as families realise Labour’s words are backed up by action which will make work pay – and tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

Lucy Powell is Labour’s Shadow Minister for Childcare and Children