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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why if there are calls to cap rents,

27 replies

Eliza9919 · 10/07/2019 14:24

why there aren't any to cap childcare costs at a reasonable level?

Surely if costs were capped/there were government nurseries, people would have more money to spend and therefore boost the economy etc?

OP posts:
silvercuckoo · 10/07/2019 14:29

Because, according to surveys, only a very small proportion of British people believe that mothers of under-fives should have "real" full-time jobs. Unlikely to be a very popular decision.

MonkeyTrap · 10/07/2019 14:30

I suppose on the flip side it would also make childcare less profitable and therefore standards might slip.

InDubiousBattle · 10/07/2019 14:31

People absolutely need to have a place to live but don't absolutely need childcare. Child care is subsidised, tax free child care, 30 hours etc. You could use your arguement for lots of things... If fuel was cheaper you could spend on other things, if food was cheaper you could spend on other things and so on. I'm not sure the calls to cap rents are very loud? I actually think £4.50-5 per hour is pretty reasonable.

BarbariansMum · 10/07/2019 14:31

Do you mean childcare should be subsidised, and if so by whom, or that the people providing it should be paid less?

IDontGiveABagOfDicks · 10/07/2019 14:33

I pay £40 for 10 hours childcare a day, including 3 meals and snacks, they do Forest School once a week, visit a dementia care home, have their own allotment where the children grow food, their outside space is frankly incredible, the staff are lovely and cuddly and nurturing.

I’d gladly pay them double.

I wouldn’t be able to work or study if they couldn’t maintain their running costs. It absolutely does not need to be cheaper.

I also pay £40 a day wrap around care...

Original poster
Eliza9919 · 10/07/2019 14:37

MonkeyTrap Wed 10-Jul-19 14:30:40
I suppose on the flip side it would also make childcare less profitable and therefore standards might slip.

We don't pay a fortune for kids to go to school and they have decent standards.

OP posts:
Original poster
Eliza9919 · 10/07/2019 14:40

But many nurseries costs on average 1k a month, more than some people earn, and that is per child. Surely there should be non-profit making/government nurseries or ones that charge a reasonable rate?

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 10/07/2019 14:42

We don't pay a fortune for kids to go to school and they have decent standards.

'Total spending on schools in England represented just under £42 billion in 2017–18 (in 2018–19 prices). This represents £4,700 per pupil at primary school and £6,200 per pupil at secondary school. This excludes spending by local authorities on central services, as well as spending by special schools.
'

www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/publications/comms/R150.pdf

The staff:child ratios for babies and small children are higher.

Passthecherrycoke · 10/07/2019 14:42

I agree with you OP and most other European and Scandinavian countries manage this just fine

Newtknown · 10/07/2019 14:43

I pay my childminder £5 an hour, I doubt it'd be worth her time if they made her lower her rates. Or maybe she would still be a childminder but not be able to take my DD places that cost money.
Childcare is one of our biggest expenses but it's not our childminders fault. Maybe the government should help parents with childcare costs more?

PooWillyBumBum · 10/07/2019 14:46

I think even minimum wage is more than £1,000 per month. Yes, it must be really hard for low earners but for families with two incomes who can make it work it’s only full whack for ~2.5 years until the free hours start kicking in and I thought child tax credits etc was to help contribute to this stuff? Plus it’s already tax subsidised at basic rate.

I’m pregnant with my second now and when they’re born and I return to work there will be no holidays and likely no new clothes or meals out for a while but it’s our kid, we made it, who else should pay?

MissCharleyP · 10/07/2019 14:47

Maybe because it’s a choice to have children? Everyone needs somewhere to live so yes, housing should absolutely be more affordable. As pp said where do you draw the line? I’d love petrol to be subsidised as I need a car to get to work (do shifts and no public transport) but it never, ever will be.

Passthecherrycoke · 10/07/2019 14:47

Subsidy doesn’t mean childminders and nurseries accept lower rates. It means they charge the same, with the government paying some and the parent paying some.

Contraceptionismyfriend · 10/07/2019 14:48

Why shouldn't childcare providers earn a decent income?

FannyWork · 10/07/2019 14:52

Low income workers have up to 70% of their childcare paid by tax credits. It’s already heavily subsidised. So I suspect it’s frequently matter of some parents being tight rather than genuine need.

AngrySquid · 10/07/2019 14:56

Passthecherrycoke
With tax credits, tax free childcare vouchers (think they’re still a thing?) and free hours after a certain age I’m pretty sure that’s already what we have now, heavily discounted childcare.
I’m not really sure what the problem is, yes nursery places are 1k a month but you wouldn’t have to actually pay for most of it via free hours and/or tax credits surely

QueenoftheBiscuitTin · 10/07/2019 14:57

Having somewhere to live is essential, having children is a luxury and childcare is already subsidised by the government.

Passthecherrycoke · 10/07/2019 15:00

@AngrySquid that’s only for low earners. In other countries childcare is subsidised for everyone.

Thymejuice · 10/07/2019 15:05

As others have said everyone needs genuinely affordable housing. Many families struggling to pay childcare costs would be more able to afford it if their rents were more affordable.

Witchesandwizards · 10/07/2019 15:16

Eliza, my kids did go to a non profit making nursery (Sure Start before they lost funding) and it was £900 per month full time.
This works out at about £5ph.
So, let's make it profit making at, say, £7ph and you are paying £1400 per month.

I don't think that childcare is expensive, you just need a hell of a lot of 'units' of it and I certainly don't believe that nurserys are raking it in.
And now there are are more free hours at an earlier age, it's only for a very short amount of time.

JustTwoMoreSecs · 10/07/2019 17:57

I am for state chilcare when both parents work FT with a fee based on income

JustTwoMoreSecs · 10/07/2019 17:59

Sorry, posted to soon. The point was that people should pay, but not too much so it is still worth working even at min wage.

Pipandmum · 10/07/2019 18:12

Many countries that have state funded childcare are also very expensive to live in. Finland for example children are entitled to free daycare regardless of income but the tax rate is much higher than here and so is the cost of living (rent funnily enough is one of the few things cheaper on average than here). So you pay one way if the other.
And capping rent - my family survives on the rents from my properties, which are let to students and professionals, so I hope they don’t cap it. Market forces prevail.

Foslady · 10/07/2019 18:18

So if the state subsidies childcare more, what aren’t they going to give money to? The NHS? The police? The fire brigade? The armed forces?

Or should Boris not give his rich pals a tax cut and use that?

JoxerGoesToStuttgart · 10/07/2019 18:20

We don't pay a fortune for kids to go to school and they have decent standards.

Umm.... don’t even know where to start with this one tbh.