This petition proposes an independent review of childcare funding and affordability , to explore what the Government needs to do to ensure we have a childcare sector that works for families, children and the economy.
The UK has the second most expensive childcare system in the world. A full time place costs, on average, £14,000 per year, making it completely unaffordable for most families. Parents are forced to leave their jobs or work fewer hours, which has a negative impact on the economy and on child poverty.
Childcare workers are paid so badly that 1 in 10 are officially living in poverty. Meanwhile, a lack of funding has resulted in 2,087 childcare settings closing in England in the first 3 months of 2021 when provision was already low. Without good quality, affordable childcare the ‘levelling up’ agenda will fail.
