CPAG response to House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts report 'Early years: progress in developing high quality childcare and early education accessible to all' published today

Leading charity welcomes MPs investigations into the need for high quality universal childcare
07.09.04

Responding to today's cross party report into childcare, the Child Poverty Action Group's Chief Executive Kate Green said,

'Good quality affordable childcare is central to the fight against child poverty so it is excellent to see the Public Accounts Committee examining policy in this area: without sustained increases in the availability and quality of affordable childcare the government's ambitions to end child poverty will be undermined.

'Our experience remains that childcare is too costly for many parents, that this cost will act as a disincentive to take up childcare and it may therefore prove a barrier to employment – undermining government attempts to increase the number of people in work.

'As the committee noted there are problems with focusing provision solely on the poorest wards. Although there remains a shortage of places, felt most acutely in the poorest areas, not all poorer families live in poor areas – what is needed is continued steps towards a universally available, free at the point of delivery, childcare service.

'The committee noted the balance between the choice to work and the importance of spending adequate time with children in the early years. For children's early development and later life chances to be maximised, parents need to have sufficient income at this time to be enabled to spend sufficient time with their children when they are growing up.'

Note the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts today released its report 'Early years: progress in developing high quality childcare and early education accessible to all'

For more information contact:
Ashley Riley
Press Officer
Tel 020 7812 5216
Mobile 07811 324339
ariley@cpag.org.uk