A new report from the London Assembly’s Economic Committee lays out the enormous challenges facing childcare providers and families in the capital.
The cross-party committee report highlights that London has the highest childcare costs in England, with prices up to 33% more than in other parts of the country. The report also emphasises that the childcare sector in the capital does not have the capacity or infrastructure to deal with the rise in demand which will accompany the government’s expansion of free childcare places from April.
Community Union’s National Officer for Education and Early Years, Helen Osgood, said:
“Our members in the early years sector in London can testify both to the cost-of-living pressures facing families across the city, and the chronic underinvestment in childcare settings by the Department of Education. This report spells out in alarming detail how the pressures are coming to a boiling point in London, and how – without proper funding for childcare settings from the government – the roll-out of additional free childcare placements in April will push many providers over the edge.”
Community Union’s lead for Early Years, Letitia McCalla, said:
“The report from the London Assembly Economic Committee is a damning indictment of the national crisis in the childcare sector; a crisis which has been exacerbated by the cost of living and government policies. We welcome the Mayor of London’s commitment to engage with recommendations from the report which are in his remit, but ultimately we need the government to work more effectively with us as a union and acknowledge that the sector as a whole is facing a moment of real peril in April, and that many providers will simply no longer be able to afford to operate.”
Community is the union for education and early years professionals: representing teachers, headteachers, education, school support staff and early years staff. With over fifty years’ experience, we represent members and campaign to improve conditions for education and early years professionals. We are a modern trade union, campaigning for a better working world.
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If you are a member of Community and need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.
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