Govt stealth policy to eradicate SAH parenting

[JRHartley72]

The Guardian is reporting this morning that buried deep in Jeremy Hunt's budget last week is a new policy which will force parents on UC to return to work when their children turn three. As charities and campaigners say, it's like they just don't want us to raise our own children any more!

www.theguardian.com/society/2023/mar/22/jeremy-hunt-universal-credit-benefits-mothers-30-hour-weeks

It would be from 3 years old though, the funded hours already exist for this age range.

If the government/ society wants to encourage SAHP then they would charge the laws and entitlement around maternity leave & pay.

As it stands the ones who have shouted the loudest have got what they wanted... add on the effects on their coffers and the employability of women after childbirth it's really a non brainer.

We already have employment laws in place to minimise discrimination of parents/ carers.

As it stands the ones who have shouted the loudest have got what they wanted.

I’m not sure who you’re having a go at here? Who has ‘shouted the loudest’

Is it aimed at women who find cc prohibitively expensive

@Snowglobed If you had read anything from the industry, rather than just the Tory press release, you would see that the changes to provision from 9m-2y & more funded 3yo places is expected to force more providers to close (as @MyriadOfTravels explained in the post you replied to)

If it costs a nursery to provide the places (which it does) then providing more of those places results in bigger losses, meaning the businesses will have to close.

I agree with him. If you want to stay home with your children then you shouldn't get benefits to facilitate that

Why should the parents who do go to work pay for others to stay at home by choice?

If people can't find childcare in their locality it may be a good move to train to become a childminder. You'd have plenty of work if not much provision in your area.

If you worked three days a week and unless it was 10-12 hours a day, it was probably the job itself rather then the amount of hours that caused your health issues.
Plus, you started working when your youngest was one, but here we’re talking about three year olds.

I know but policy is from 3 years old. A lot of people claim at least the 15 hours at 3 years old now. They are also increasing their contribution by 30% to settings which won't solve all of the issues but will alleviate some of the funding problems. It's not going to be parents forced to look for work when their child is 3 that causes issues in these funded places.

Except that what the government is proposing for free extended childcare is a pittance and CM will not be able to live from that……

Pretty sure they aren’t going to make people go out to work and leave their 3 year olds at home alone. Just like people looking for a job but not immediately finding one, they will be required to supply evidence that they are looking for childcare places. And probably supported in finding one.

I'm genuinely really confused by this. At the minute can you claim UC to be a stay at home parent, irrespective of your household income? Or is that if you are on unemployed benefits (or top up) anyway, then you can stop job seeking until your child is 3?

It's irrelevant for me at this stage, but I'm going to be seriously pissed if it turns out that I've been going to work and missing out on my child to pay for other people to stay at home with theirs.

@Snowglobed no it’s not them who will cause the problem.

Its the fact there will be no spaces available so no childcare available for that parent to work.

Well that ties into the thinking popular in right wing subculture that the powers that be want to see a destruction of the traditional family in favour of state-raised children and worked to death slaves in a technological hell.

I think there's merit to it, and now it's in mainstream press.

So will they help create jobs that work around school hours? Especially in rural locations? I’m currently a carer for my youngest but I want to get back into work, my issue is there’s no breakfast club or after school club where I live and no public transport so I don’t know what my children are expected to do if I’m not able to collect them, the school is half an hours drive away from our house. I’ve been struggling to find any work at all that can fit around the school day and moving is not an option.

you can still chose to stay at home-but why should you get money to do so, once children are school age. I hope this actually benefits women by encouraging them to work and not be reliant on their partners, and then left high and dry when the relationship breaks down

The tories just want everyone to line up like good worker bees & make them & their friends money. At any cost.

Welcome to capitalism!

It sounds more like feudalism.

It’s frustrating that cc costs are so high don’t you think?

Massively higher than other countries which impacts women mostly

I'm genuinely really confused by this. At the minute can you claim UC to be a stay at home parent, irrespective of your household income?

No, there are income and savings thresholds. You can have too much money to qualify for UC.

No they want you to work if you can and not ask for benefits instead as we have huge debts and our schools and healthcare and policing etc all need paying for.

sorry you find the thought objectionable.

They’re apparently providing funding so that schools can provide wrap around care.

No , if your income is below a certain threshold so you can’t afford to stay home you can claim benefits. If you can afford it it doesn’t apply

I hope the gov offer grants to people to set up the extra childcare provisions needed.

Would be good if businesses started to create childcare spaces and jobs within offices, to help support parents with childcare. That would be useful!

What was the total in unclaimed benefits this year?