Humpty Dumpty

A brief tour of the UK's broken childcare sector

By Ben Black, My Family Care MD

Parents in the UK spend more than any of their Western counterparts on childcare. Austerity measures are starting to be felt, a few Sure Start Centres here and there are closing and diversity and parenting groups are up in arms about the adverse implications for gender equality and our children's futures.

And yet the UK is leading the way in flexible working

More and more women are combining work and family effectively; and the childcare market in round terms has been generously funded. So how did we end up in such a mess and what can be done to fix it?

The simple answer, when it comes to childcare, goes like this:

• The Labour Government spent too much and what they did spend they spent badly
• The Coalition still don’t have any coherent policies around childcare - they need some, and quickly.  It’s fundamental to the winning the female vote which seems to have deserted them
• There are some solutions but meanwhile the equality brigade should stop worrying about childcare and concentrate on the possibilities and potential of flexible working.

In reality, it's a bit more complicated than that...

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A brief tour of the UK's broken childcare sector by Ben Black.

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