The cost of a nursery place for children aged over two rose by twice the rate of inflation last year while childcare for a toddler now swallows half the gross earnings of an average parent in England working part-time, according to a report out today.
Yes?
And?
The Government\’s spent the last 13 years piling regulations and legal requirements upon the sector. What do you expect to happen when the costs of providing a service go up?
My wife spent 13 years in this sector, but being like me, somewhat prickly and un-PC, she was finally driven out together with one of her colleagues by frustration over arguments with social services concerning ridiculous directives and excessive paperwork.
Looking back to those days, around 10 years ago, I don’t recall any high profile paedophile or child porn scandals associated with nurseries and playgroups. Today yet another such story has broken (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249691/Nursery-shut-toddler-sexually-assaulted.html).
I know this cannot be true, but it almost seems as if a generation of traditional carers have been pushed out of the pre-school industry to provide equal employment opportunities for CRB vetted perverts and pornographers.
Leonelli and her husband collect childcare vouchers, which amount to £486 of tax-free income, but she said it was not enough. “I did not choose to have twins but through no fault of my own I cannot afford to go back to work. I’d love the cost to come down but I don’t see how.”
Oh, dear God! I’m a victim because I was blessed with twins.
“The only way to bring down childcare [costs] is more public subsidy,” said Garnham, who pointed out that Britain lagged behind its European counterparts when it came to state funding of facilities. “In Europe it is either universal provision or means-testing, but basically the state pays for nurseries.
The point is, it is childcare, it is someone looking after your kids so you can go out to work and earn some tom. It is not about education. So if the only reason someone wants their children in childcare is financial, then they should pay, I don’t see why I should.
It would be better to use the money to take the lowest earners out of income tax.
“The only way to bring down childcare [costs] is more public subsidy,”
Actually, of course, the ideal way to drive up childcare costs is more public subsidy.
I’ve got an idea!
Suppose instead of putting their children into nurseries at great expense, perhaps parents could look after their children themselves!
That way, the cost of the nursery place would be partially recouped by the cash each parent paid himself!
The only out-of-pocket expense would be the income tax. And the national insurance tax. And the employer’s national insurance tax. And the mandatory pension contributions. And…