Is Liz Truss going to scrap free childcare?!

[ShrimpingViolet]

This story is worrying:

www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/06/revealed-rightwing-slash-and-burn-ideas-that-could-be-blueprint-for-truss?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

I have no idea how we'd cope as a family if this happened, coupled with everything else that's going on at the moment with the cost of living.

I hope to god other MPs speak up about this so it can be stopped. Is it worth writing to local MPs to ask for assurances?

Happy for it to come out of my tax as well, and I haven’t even got any children.

How on earth does she think that will lead to economic growth when even more people won’t be able to afford to go to work?

@SomeSquirrelsAreBlack is there EU legislation that would prevent this kind of change of policy?

All taxes are included in the calculation. It may blow your mind to read that people on lower wages tend to spend less each year on products subject to VAT than higher earners.

I spent £160,000 on stamp duty last year and about £130,000 on VAT. I’m skeptical that many people on a £40k salary paid much more.

I've seen something that said instead of paying providers the money directly she wants the money to go to the parents instead. But then I have seen some idiotic thing that parents would be able to mix & match schools for different subjects & lessons would be taught online at home. I wouldn't believe anything until it is in black & white, I honestly think she is wanting to bankrupt the country & then sail off in the sunset after the next election.

Considering there are not enough nursery places for parents who want them, I do think places should be given to working parents first, then remaining availability split between parents who are sahp. Also funded hours for 3 year olds should be matched to number of hours parents work so if single Mum only works 15 hours then child should receive 15 hours free. If work 35 hours then 35 hours free. This would enable parents who want to work to do so and grow economy.

@Thisismynamenow, surely most parents do majority of chores when kids in bed freeing up time to play with kids after nursery whilst just doing a few odd chores eg putting on a load of washing or wiping a work surface whilst talking to child.

If she tried, she'd be packing her bags before the day was out.

The uproar over scrapping the 45p rate would be nothing compared to the howls of fury from the home counties.

There are rumblings that she’s going to stop people from getting paid leave as well. I mentioned this recently and some didn’t believe it.

Um. This policy is not designed for parents - it is designed to benefit children. It’s designed to enable social mobility. FFS

Not me. Ever. I’ve never voted Tory in my life. They don’t stand for you unless you earn over £100k. Hence the NHS is gone. I didn’t vote to leave the EU either - utter suicide. Nice that nearly half of us have to pay for the mistakes of the other half.

It feels like there is very little in the way of hope and opportunity for the future at the moment. When I was growing up it did feel like a country where you could be reasonably confident that the next generation would benefit from a better life. The last decade feels like that's all gone backwards.

Also I find it amazing that so many people are still talking about free hours. I have never had any free hours. I’ve had subsidised hours which is very welcome but no nursery around me offers anything free.

I doubt this is true. They want to get more people into work and fixing childcare is one way to do that. Getting rid of free childcare would have the opposite effect.

All a bit vague, but something else on the horizon. Possibly.

www.theguardian.com/money/2022/oct/07/truss-considering-plans-to-send-childcare-cash-to-parents-in-england

Yes it can and probably will

Why should it be automatically linked to mom, whereas dad in your calculations? Why does he not have to be considered?

This what they do. They send their lapdogs out to 'leak' info. about some abhorrent 'plan' they have in the pipeline.

They assess the backlash from sites like this and their own private polls.

Then they implement something less abhorrent in the certain knowledge people will feel relieved the first abhorrent plan was not implemented.

45p tax cut anyone?

Reversed in a smoke'n'mirrors exercise to reduce their planned cuts by £2B. Of course, the remaining tax cuts are going ahead without any whimpering from the public because they 'won' the 45p tax cut 'battle' and felt respected and 'listened to' .... 🙄

Rinse and repeat .... rinse and repeat ....

Don't panic.

This isnt how politics works.

If she tries it, there will be a massive tory mutiny.

Truss needs to go back to basics on how politics works. You can't do shit if you don't have enough of your party on board. You won't have your party on board if you come up with policies likely to alien their voters.

I’d be very happy to see the childcare subsidy reduced if it let the top rate of tax be lowered

Of course you would mate! I would happily subsidise childcare because it's societally the right thing to do. All of this is absolute bullshit I'm ever, ever so sick of hearing the foulness emanating from every decision this woman makes

I am just praying this is true but I do also feel a PP is right in that their strategy seems to be to announce something absolutely devastating, "U-turn" on it, then announce something almost equally as shitty but people are so blindsided by the relief from diabolical plan A going ahead that diabolical plan B seems much more palatable.

This.

It's for the benefit of the children from disadvantaged families so that they get to spend time learning in a safe environment.

@mellongoose I think by this point what they say they want & their actual agenda are two quite different things!

She will argue that deregulating childcare will give parents more freedom to choose/staff easier to recruit/more affordable for parents/less overheads so childcare cheaper…. In reality that’s a cutting of standards in nurseries, staff on zero hours contracts, unsafe ratios of kids to staff…

Agree. Why on earth is 30 hours funded if people can just work 16? Even accounting for travel time doesn't mean they need double hours.

It is only for 34 weeks a year, if averaged over a full year it is only 19.5 hours. In addition providers only get £4.78 from the govetnment for hour so try to claw back the extra needed to cover their costs in other ways.

The UK is already near the bottom of the chart for affordablity of childcare (yellow dots)

Guardian said considering perhaps. I hate it when the media go on a vague pot stirring campaign. If the parents are abusing the nursery system it would free up the babysitting system I'm hearing about on this thread.

I can't believe people are not more outraged at the government discussing dismantling childcare. We have one of the worst provisions in Europe and any reduction is going to see more closures and worse provision.

This cash plan would be the start of returning us to a 1950s model, where children were cared for within the family. Women will have to leave the workforce once nurseries close.