Is extending 30 hours childcare to parents on benefits fair?

[GimmieABreakOr3]

30 free hours of childcare to those in receipt of benefits is not fair.

Currently, the 30-hour childcare scheme requires parents to be in work to qualify. However, the UK Education Secretary has called for this to be extended to parents on benefits.

Many argue that those who are unemployed don’t need childcare. I agree. How is it fair that those of us in work are always propping up those who are not? It’s proper two tier Britain if you ask me when it comes to those in work compared to those who are unemployed and on welfare. I think Labour are ruining this country.

I had three kids
A single
Then twins
So it does in fact put barriers in place for people

If we are extending it to some so that kids get a better chance we should be treating all kids as equal in that privilege

Also 15 hours spread over the whole year (because how many people looking for jobs only work term time) is 1 day a week of childcare. You really think that’s enough to get people employable?

I think it’s to try and give those children the best start they can have but who the hell is funding all this, where is the money coming from? I don’t think this is a good idea.

I think it sounds like a great idea for the children it will support.

Comparison is the thief of joy. I would be grateful to be employed, it’s not an easy job market at the moment and unemployment is likely to rise.

If you were made redundant should childcare be instantly removed from you even if you are actively trying to find work?

Developmentally 0-3 are the most important years for all children, if we can improve experience and outcomes for more children not only is that a benefit to that child, but society as a whole.

But you must have a very high income not to qualify? The logic is you can afford to put them in childcare they can’t.

We lost more than one salary using childcare
One of us would have lost our registration had one of us given up work. So we couldn’t and had to pay
we had no choice in the days before the Govn paid anything

People however shouldn’t have to do that
Work should be supported and if we are going to support some kids into childcare we should support them all !

If this is in fact about the kids

I wouldn’t want anyone to have to go through what we had to

I am so relieved if this is the case. That ludicrous division kept women out of work and even children who were at risk were only given three hours a day.

My children went to a state run nursery. I felt that there was a clearer sense of what preschool education was for in that system - for many in the UK, they are paying private nursery fees and probably feel more of a sense of unfairness. As a governor at the state-run nursery, I found catastrophically unfair that children from non-working / very low-income parents were not given a full day provision.

What did you ‘go through’?

Our salary reduced to less than half.

Imagine for a moment how that would affect any family

If the system is about the kids
then don’t base it on the parents
base it on the kids as equal

You said you wouldn’t want anyone to go through what you had to go to, I thought there was going to be some tragic story about loosing your home or marriage or something… but no, wealthy family had 3 kids in childcare and had their income reduced for a relatively short period of life… some families have 2 parents working full time as teachers or nurses, get help with childcare and still end up needing food banks because the system is so shit. Poor you 🙄

is fhe limit not 100k salary so that means if you got no funding at all your incomes were still over 100k? Or are you talking about before the funding became a thing?

Most people on benefits work.

Also just to say that on maternity mine and my husbands salary went from combined £4k a month to £2400 (take home) so yes I feel I can imagine it. We did plan for it and scraped and saved my whole pregnancy but it’s was tough!

🙄 too lazy to actually read what I shared, don’t comment then!

no, I’m not the author!

This is what I’m saying. Hear, hear!

Too lazy to answer questions or actually share the article 🙄 don’t bother posting if you aren’t willing to discuss it properly then. Shame facts would get in your way I guess.

Agree maternity leave is also difficult
but imagine multiplying that by many more years of childcare payments
when you can’t plan for getting pregnant with twins

The majority of people on benefits and not working are usually for not very nice reasons like illness and disability i think its good that kids get a break from that environment to play and learn

Which is a parenting issue, not a taxpayer’s issue.

It isn’t fair on parents in working households who have to fork out for expensive nursery fees and have their household income completely slashed, in some cases by half. My husband and I both work and need to both be in work to pay our mortgage. It’s a shame some people on this thread can’t seem to empathise for those of us on the other side, and the only argument is “well you’re in a privileged position” pah!

I had my salary reduced to zero. I went to work and my childcare costs equalled my salary. Yes it was worth it for limited period of time but just immensely demoralising.

I can completely understand that. You shouldn’t have had to go through that.

Agree. I never knew it was up to nurseries to potty train toddlers!