Labour has called on the Government to focus its financial
support on the struggling childcare sector to prevent a wave of
nursery closures and a damaging impact on families and our
economic recovery.
During a visit to a nursery tomorrow (16 July), , Shadow Minister for
Children and Early Years, will warn that allowing mass childcare
closures could lead to many parents, particularly mothers, losing
their jobs, setting back our economic recovery from the
coronavirus pandemic which will rely on people being able to get
back to work.
Over 14,000 childcare providers have already been lost in
England since 2015, and research suggests that a quarter of the
rest may not survive this crisis. Labour is calling for the early
years sector to receive the targeted support it needs, to help
providers cope with substantially reduced income and higher costs
during this pandemic, for which no specific support is currently
available.
, Labour’s Shadow Minister
for Children and Early Years, said:
“Childcare is absolutely essential for working parents and
to our economic recovery from coronavirus. But it has been
ignored by the Government in this crisis, with the early years
sector consistently excluded from support packages.
“We were already losing hundreds of nurseries and
childminders every month before this crisis hit due to years of
underfunding. We can’t afford for any more to close, but that is
precisely what will happen unless the Government targets support
properly on sectors like childcare.
“It’s time for Ministers to get serious about supporting
families in this pandemic and step in with a proper plan to save
the childcare sector.”
Ends
Notes to editors
