To think that if there was low cost childcare in the UK then Cameron wouldn't need to whine about benefit scroungers?

[ChristinedePizan]

We are on holiday in France at the moment and I'm really impressed by the state's provision for childcare. Pre-school is free from the age of 3 and there is wraparound childcare either side of school from 7.30am - 6.30pm. At a cost of £1 an hour. If we had that in the UK it would make it worthwhile to go to work even if you were low paid. Whereas if you're paying the school £5/hour then if you're earning NMW it's really not worth it.

Yep. YANBU. I thank god my DC are older now, I really do.

Totally agree

I quite agree. It would massively reduce the amount of people who aren't able to make work worthwhile. It wouldn't eradicate, but it would reduce, certainly.

we need to campaign about this! they seem to be cutting all our subsidised a/s and holiday care

I wonder how much the staff get paid?

Agree BUT who will fund the cheap childcare. The minders will not be getting just the pound. Taxes?

Swings and roundabouts, it is all the same pot of money.

YABU. come on taxpayer more money needed.........
Don't for one second believe it would get low wage earners back to work

Presumably, it will cost less to fund the CC workers than it would the benefits for the parents using the CC, who previously were unable to work?

cheaper childcare was always funded by the council for years, only now it's being cut (after training a whole workforce) it's depressing.

also the extended schools kerfuffle didn't seem to do what it was meant to

Not only lower cost childcare but making non resident parents (mostly men) face up to their responsibilities and pay towards the upbringing of their own children would all but eradicate "scroungers".

The downside is pushing parents, especially mothers, back to work when the children are younger and younger. What happens when childcare for babies is £1 an hour? Will any mother who wants to stay home and look after her own baby be classed as a scrounger? Or lazy?

Although saying that, we are getting to that point anyway in Britain.

Presumably, it will cost less to fund the CC workers than it would the benefits for the parents using the CC, who previously were unable to work?

I'm not entirely sure it would when you consider the parent would probably still be claiming WTC and CB.

My childminder costs £3 per hour. Because we are low earners the tax credits pay most of that.

Therefore there e clearly is low cost childcare available already. Is somebody doesn't want to work, they won't.

Hopefully on the whole, the ratio of children in the club to the amount of workers would make it a viable set up.

Of course, that does depend on the jobs being there.

That's also true, Shakirasma. While I don't think it is anywhere near the majority of cases, there will always be people who won't be tempted into work, no matter what the carrot is.

£3 per hour? Where is this?! Last year tax credits helped with my childcare enough to go back to work. This last nursery bill used all my wages, as well as £20 of DH's. Not sure if being out of pocket to not be a lazy scrounger is really beneficial to my family.

Sorry, lazy scrounger in last post should have had inverted comas! If childcare was cheaper or free then I would definitely carry on working. Luckily (?) am on maternity leave from next week.
Can I also add that it wasn't a NMW job either, but one that paid pretty bloody well!

I'm in the midlands. £3 per hour per child is pretty average in this area.

Much cheaper to use a childminder than a nursery

Lazy Scrounger Moodykat (sorry, couldn't resist!), I've always seen the argument in those circumstances being that CC costs are not permanent, but working at a loss means you do have a career already when the DCs are at school, and you avoid the general difficulties there are with looking for work having been out of the job market for so long. It's not worth it in many cases, but it is in some.

but why do we concentrate so much on younger children, when they're older they still need childcare (feels ignored)

nicespam, how old are we talking? Too old to use wraparound clubs?

Cheap childcare would be great, but we would still have to pay for it in our taxes, and I'd rather pay for childcare for a few years than pay higer taxes for all my years.

And some people still wouldn't want to work, so they just wouldn't.

People won't vote for that sort of taxation and that's democracy in action.

LordSucre - there has got to be a net benefit of paying for CC if it means more people are able to work. And wouldn't it be simpler for everyone (not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper administratively) if CC were low cost in the first place rather than giving low paid parents cashback?