Katie Simpson, Northampton Socialist Party
Childcare costs continue to be a burden for families. On top of food, rent and everything else, childcare fees have increased too. More parents needing to go back to work full-time sooner also increases the demand for childcare.
This poses even more difficulties over the summer months. Most parents are working while schools are closed.
No one to step in
My child isn’t yet school age. But I’m still looking to family to take care of my baby while the childminders closes for over a week in August. For many families there is nobody able to step in and no spaces in nurseries or with childminders.
For many, free school meals are a lifeline. The Tories ignored footballer Marcus Rashford’s call to provide them during the school holidays in the long term. And they’re still not universal for every child.
Unfortunately, the Labour Party agrees with the Tories. Labour is also not willing to pledge to provide free school meals over the summer to struggling families, let alone provide them for every primary or secondary pupil.
Even in Wales, where the devolved Labour government is introducing free school meals for primary pupils painfully slowly, they’ve ruled out extending them for the school holidays – (see “Labour dropping Corbyn policies makes breaking ‘class ceiling’ harder” at socialistparty.org.uk).
The competition for childcare space hits the most vulnerable hardest. Many children with disabilities have been refused by childcare services, due to the extra support required. This is a direct consequence of the privatisation of childcare services. By bringing childcare services back in-house, we can cap costs and provide childcare for all children.
