• Cllr Mick Lerry pledges to tackle Cameron’s Childcare Crisis
• Labour announce plan for primary childcare guarantee and extension of free nursery hours for 3 and 4 year olds for working families
Children and families in the Bridgwater and West Somerset Constituency are set to benefit from new measures by Labour to ease the cost of living crisis. Childcare is one of the most expensive costs for working parents with families in the South West paying up to 2.4% more for childcare. For some families paying for childcare can be as much as having a second mortgage and childcare costs can be a major barrier to getting into work and making ends meet.
Labour’s plans, welcomed by Cllr Mick Lerry Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset, would introduce a guaranteed wrap around childcare place before and after school for primary school children benefitting 128,268 children and their families, many who live in the Constituency. Ten extra hours free childcare provision for working parents of three and four year old will also be introduced, paid for by an increase in the Bank levy.
Labour’s primary school childcare guarantee
Cllr Mick Lerry said:” For many parents, arranging good quality, available childcare can be a logistical nightmare. Labour’s primary school childcare guarantee would put parents minds at rest, help them manage before and after school care to fit into the working day and give their children extra opportunities”.
Extending free nursery hours for three and four year olds from 15 to 25 hours for working families means that parents can work part time for the first time without having to worry about the cost of childcare. The fifteen free hours available to all three and four year olds remains in place as well as the 15-hour offer for the 20% most disadvantaged of two year olds.
Cllr Mick Lerry said: “Families in Bridgwater and West Somerset Constituency are facing a cost of living crisis of David Cameron’s making. Whilst millionaires are getting tax breaks people here are suffering. Childcare is a key cause of the cost of living crisis for working parents and I’m pleased Labour have pledged to introduce these bold policies to make a difference to hard pressed mums and dads. A Primary guarantee will make arranging quality before and after school care easier, and extending the free childcare offer from 15 to 25 hours will be worth over £1500 for parents of three and four year olds to help them pay their childcare bills”.
“Making ends meet is tough at the moment. Energy bills are through the roof and the cost of childcare is like a second mortgage. These offers by Labour to help with childcare will make a real difference by make childcare accessible and affordable”
“The Government has reduced the proportion of childcare costs funded by tax credits for low income families, down from 80 to 70 per cent. This has cost families up to £1,560 a year and Ian Liddell-Grainger MP and his Lib Dem Colleagues in Somerset should be ashamed of this legacy”.
Cllr Mick Lerry – Leader of the Labour Group on Sedgemoor District Council
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset
Mobile: 07775 905080
Email: michael.lerry@btinternet.com