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Pre-budget report: what do you think?

41 replies

LunarSeasonsGreetings · 02/12/2004 13:37

The main family/child related points from Gordon Brown's speech....

Paid maternity leave is to be extended from 6 to 9 months by 2007 - with an ultimate goal of one year. Parents will also have the ability to transfer paid maternity leve from then mother to the father. He also said he would be increasing the rights to flexible working for those employees with young children.

He also promised that free nursery education for three and four-year-olds would be increased to 15 hours a week from April 2007.

Employers will be able to offer an extra £50 a week for child care, free of tax and National insurance.

He is also to provide funds so that schools could stay open from 8am to 6pm for pre- and after-school care for children of working parents

OP posts:
tiredemma · 02/12/2004 13:39

excellent- as a working parent he gets my vote!

PamiNativity · 02/12/2004 13:45

Presumably the 2007 date is so that we won't get these unless Labour are re-elected. I would imagine that a lot of people who will be affected by this are not yet thinking about children/childcare and therefore might not vote next year based on these issues. Sadly it will come too late for me

ChristmasBOOZA · 02/12/2004 13:47

Generally impressed. But on the nursery education thing - I think the number of weeks a year should be expanded rather than the number of hours a week. Nursery Grant term is only 11 weeks - so 33 weeks a year. So for instance they have a 5 week holiday at Christmas. For me this just means an expensive bill just when I could do without it (and a bit more on that 0% credit card) but my friend is having to alternate sending her DD and DS because she can't afford to send them both and pay for 5 weeks.

ChristmasBOOZA · 02/12/2004 13:47

Sometimes think I had my children too soon as well PN.

yingers74 · 02/12/2004 14:21

very impressed with what he is offering although not sure i can give him my vote with all the other stuff his govt has done.....

Uwila · 02/12/2004 15:22

Think it sound like hot air to be honest. And how is he paying for these things?

How many hours of nursery are offered now? Is 15 hours a big difference?

Oh, and my husband can have my £100/week. That's chicken shit in today's living costs. How bout you offer him the same six weeks of leave that I get at 90% of his pay. Then we can be equal. Until then, the chilcare burden belongs to women. (not that spending time my my lovely toddler is by any means a burden)

ChristmasBOOZA · 02/12/2004 15:24

12.5 hours now. So extra 1/2 hour a day. But like I said only for 33 weeks a year.

Uwila · 02/12/2004 15:28

I suspected as much. Hot air.

zubb · 02/12/2004 15:32

Uwila - self-employed people only get £100 a week from the start of maternity leave, so my dh would be equal to me.
I think its great that the leave can be transfered between parents, but how many employers are going to allow that? can't see take up being high at all.

zubb · 02/12/2004 15:35

Its just about an extra session. The pre-school that ds1 will start in January does mornings only (9-12), so this would take it to covering all week.
It all helps, and is a step in the right direction I think.

motherinfestivemood · 02/12/2004 15:38

Yes, self-employment grumble whinge penniless selfpity rant

[MI returns to attempting to earn a living]

Gobbledigoose · 02/12/2004 15:40

This might sound a bit daft but, with reference to nursery places - doesn't the gov provide free pre-school nursery places but generally attached to schools?

So, for example - I could have sent ds1 to the nursery attached to the school he will go to and it wouldn't have cost me anything. However, I decided to keep him in his privately run nursery that he's been at since 2 which runs from 9-1 every morning which means that I only get grant for that 33 weeks and for 2.5 hrs a day so I still pay for nursery - but that's my choice isn't it?

Free nursery education is available but I've chosen not to take it iyswim. Am I missing something?

Gobbledigoose · 02/12/2004 15:41

I don't know, I've always been quite chuffed with my £400 going in the bank every 4 weeks while on 'maternity' from self employment! It just feels like money for nothing iyswim but maybe I'm just easily pleased?!

Mind you, I do pay tax so maybe I should really be thinking I'm entitled to more?

Oh, I don't know, my head's like jelly today!

Tinker · 02/12/2004 15:42

It's only available for free for half sessions per day at nurseries attached to schools. Otherwise, you're eligible for nursery vouchers. School nurseries only open for 39 weeks per year.

Gobbledigoose · 02/12/2004 15:48

OK, so what I'm saying is that everyone has the option to take free nursery education for their child's pre-school year but some of choose otherwise and therefore pay the extra at our private nurseries - so isn't that just our choice and so we can't really complain about it??

Uwila · 02/12/2004 15:55

I don't think there are enough state nursery places to go around. At least in my area, not very many schools have nurseries attached. We have to go several towns away to get into a COE school with a nursery attached. There are COE schools closer, but none with nurseries.

Tinker · 02/12/2004 15:58

But everyone is entitled to nursery vouchers. Think, used school nursery.

zubb · 02/12/2004 15:59

GDG - I was grateful for the £400 a month as it was all I was getting. Just saw it as one of the choices I made when going self-employed. I was just pointing out to Uwila that the 'chicken shit' that she referred to is all some of us get!

The flexible parental leave works well in Denmark, but I think they get more than £100 / week.

PamiNativity · 02/12/2004 15:59

Obviously we all (probably) have the option to take up free nursery education rather than private, but if you are working then it is very hard to get childcare that will cover the remaining hours of the day. It's no good for me to get a nursery place from 9-11.30am each day when I can't get back from work to pick dd up. Hence the nursery voucher scheme which goes a little way towards making up for that (but not very much!!)

serenequeen · 02/12/2004 16:00

free nursery education for the pre-school year? this amounts to 2.5 hrs per day during term time - if you work outside the home this doesn't constitute much of a "choice".

motherinfestivemood · 02/12/2004 16:03

GdG, I can't live on £100 a week! I had to save up several thousand to cover each of my maternity leaves: after all, the bills don't disappear just because you've had a baby. It really irks me that maternity benefit is proclaimed a state provision when it isn't.

zubb · 02/12/2004 16:04

It works well for me as it means that I'm not paying the nursery and the childminder for the same time. I will have to pay the childminder for the mornings that ds is at nursery to keep his place for the afternoon, so as this covers the nursery cost I don't have to pay more each week.

Gobbledigoose · 02/12/2004 16:11

OK, gotcha!

I work in the home so it's not such an issue dropping off and picking up but I still chose to pay for the private pre-school nursery because it's longer hours and while the younger 2 ds's sleep while ds1 is there, I can get some work done! 2.5 hrs a day would be almost useless and I can see how it's worse for those who work outside the home.

On the other hand, I've made my choices with regard to work and I don't really expect anyone to subside those iyswim. So the fact that I need ds1 in nursery longer so I can get work done is my problem - the free nursery place was available but no good for me so I paid for the private nursery. Isn't this really the same for people who go out to work?

Mind you, we don't get the same hours paid for at private nursery as is provided in school do we? We get 2.5 hrs a day for 33 weeks but the school nurseries are open for 39 weeks, is that right?

I take Uwila's point too though that there must not be enough school nursery places available so that is a problem since it leaves some with no choice to make.

BTW - I'm not trying to argue with anyone here, I'm just trying to get it straight in my jellified head! (been working till God knows what time at night for the past few weeks and another project just starting - I'm knackered!)

ChristmasBOOZA · 02/12/2004 16:14

Well my DS has been on the nursery grant since Easter (so two terms so far) - this is partly because he has not got a place at the school nursery. However he could go after Christmas for the remaining two terms before he starts reception but as a working mother ( I work 3 days and he has his five sessions factored into those 3 days) with a DD also at the nursery he is staying put. I have a friend who's DS will be getting five terms at his school nursery.

I think that the state nursery/nursery grant should both really be the same number of weeks as primary school terms.

Uwila · 02/12/2004 16:15

Yes, £100/week is better than nothing. But, it isn't enough to enable me to stay home for very long. It's a help, but not a very big one. That's why I call it hot air. For £100/week I can stay home for about 4-8 weeks before they put me in debtors prison. So, increasing that from 6 months to 9 will do nothing for me.