Southwark Liberal Democrats have submitted a response to the council’s ‘Childcare Commission’, which is tasked with finding a response to the growing problem of high childcare costs.

Our response is published below.

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LIBERAL DEMOCRAT SUBMISSION TO SOUTHWARK CHILDCARE COMMISSION

Cost of childcare

Every parent in our borough will have faced challenges with childcare. The available arrangements are often impractical, and in recent years the costs involved have spiralled out of control. The OECD estimates that the average UK working household pays 27% of its income on childcare – way above the OECD average of 12%.

The problem is felt around the country, but the issue is particularly acute in Southwark. In our borough childcare costs can be as high as £400 a week – more than the average weekly cost of sending a child to a private school.

The current situation not only places a huge financial burden on local families, it also threatens the diversity of our workforce and the options available to parents after having children – more than a quarter of working mothers say they would increase their working hours if they could arrange suitable childcare that they could afford.

Role of the commission

Liberal Democrats in Southwark welcome the establishment of this commission and the council’s new commitment to make changes on childcare. However, there is some scepticism about how the commission will be conducted and about the sort of recommendations it is likely to make. It is important that the commission avoids shifting the responsibility for tackling childcare away from the council or makes vague or otherwise unhelpful recommendations that will only serve to delay action further. The commission must recommend practical solutions that will solve parents’ problems in the near future, and against which the council can be clearly measured.

Fortunately, the commission’s task has been made easier by the abundance of experts on the issue of childcare in our borough, as in every area of the country – parents know the problems with the current childcare offer better than anyone else, and many of them are more than willing to discuss them with local politicians and council officers. I hope, therefore, that as well as drawing upon the expertise of the panel of commissioners that has been assembled for this exercise, the commission takes as much time as possible to talk to local parents about these issues.

So far it has been difficult to find details of the commission online, which may mean that many potentially interested parents don’t even know the commission is taking place, and I hope that this situation will be rectified as the commission progresses.

Having spoken to many of these local parents about their childcare problems, I know that local people want more financial support to help them cope with the costs of childcare, so I hope that the commission will consider the value of supplementing the government’s free childcare hours offer from council budgets.

Government help

The national government has made good progress on this issue, providing 15 hours of free childcare a week for all 3 and 4 year olds and for 2 years olds from less advantaged backgrounds, and taking forward its proposals for tax free childcare and more flexible shared parental leave. These changes will make a big impact for many local families, but there is also a role for local authorities to help the many residents who are experiencing problems with childcare.

Extra free childcare hours

Throughout the previous administration, Southwark Liberal Democrats pushed for extra support for childcare. In particular, our call for the council to offer additional free childcare hours got local people talking about the role local authorities can play in tackling this issue.

At a Council Assembly meeting earlier this year, the Labour cabinet and all Labour councillors in attendance backed our plan for free childcare hours. This was put on record with an official vote. It has been disappointing that since then, no free hours have been forthcoming.

It is good the council has now responded to this debate and begun its own work on childcare – however unfortunately it often feels that council leaders are more comfortable discussing the issue of high childcare costs than putting forward any real practical help. I hope the commission can go some way towards rectifying this commitment gap.

Supporting nurseries

I also know that parents want as much choice as possible in their local area, so I hope that the commission will recommend that the council should support local nurseries to help them stay open.

Liberal Democrat councillors were outraged at previous plans to close down council-run nurseries in the borough. This was done behind closed doors and with little consultation with parents. It was only because of a passionate campaign by parents and local councillors that the council then back-tracked on these plans, and instead re-modelled some of the services offered. The commission must recommend that no such decisions about council-run nurseries are ever taken without properly exploring all options in genuine consultation with parents.

Better advice for parents

I know that parents can sometimes be confused about what is on offer in their local area and what support they are entitled to from the council and the government, so I would ask the commission to look at setting up an advice line and an updated online resource so parents can access accurate and clear information about childcare providers, costs, opening hours and entitlements.

Talking to local businesses

I know that parents also often struggle to balance childcare and school hours with their own working hours, so I hope the commission will examine the issue of flexible working, and suggest some ways in which local employers in the public and private sectors can be encouraged to offer this kind of support to their employees. It is concerning that chair of the commission has said it will not be consulting local businesses in order to look in detail at the role employers can play in alleviating the strains childcare can place on their employers. I hope this decision can be reviewed and the commission will talk to local businesses about the issue.

Political will

Parents face big challenges when it comes to childcare, but some of the solutions are clear and could be implemented now to make a big difference to their lives. Often, all that has been lacking has been the political will to make this a priority in Southwark. I hope that this commission marks the start of a new era of real action on childcare.

I hope that these comments have been helpful in shaping the direction of the commission and I look forward to reading the report and recommendations in due course.

Councillor Anood Al-Samerai
Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Southwark Council