Live webchat with childcare minister Sam Gyimah MP, Thursday 8 January 1-2pm

[KateHMumsnet]

Hello,

We're pleased to announce a webchat this week with the recently appointed childcare minister Sam Gyimah MP.

Sam attended schools in both Ghana and the UK and went on to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Somerville College, Oxford University. He spent 5 years working for Goldman Sachs and then went on to help build and develop a number of small businesses.

Sam was elected the Conservative Member of Parliament for East Surrey in 2010, and was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education in July 2014, with responsibility for childcare provision. He has served as School Governor of an inner London school and on the Board of a housing association. He is married and has a very young son.

Please join us live on Thursday 8 January from 1-2pm. The Minister is keen to discuss the cost and availability of childcare in particular, so if you have any questions, now is the time to ask! If you can't make it on the day, please post your questions in advance here.

Thanks
MNHQ

I was hoping to finally have someone who listened but that clearly hasn't happened. The current policies hold women back in the workplace which I suppose is convenient for a male who is purportedly here to represent parents. He could do a far better job. The current policies will harm the government at election time.

At the end of the day I think it really should be a woman appointed to a role like this anyway.
If a post such as this in government can't be filled by a woman, ideally one with some experience in early years education and childcare (and a parent too), then which posts will be?
Sorry Sam but you lost me before you even started, and then you lost me some more with your responses

You think Liz Truss was better?!!

Good Lord!

Sam Gyimah has been brought in to deliver Liz Truss's policies with as little abrasion as possible prior to the General Election (same as Nicky Morgan for Michael Gove) so you'd expect that he gives typical politician answers.

I doubt we'll see any increase in funding or extra financial help for parents from this Government. They are trying to get people to support themselves or pay private initiatives to do so. That's why they have removed so much funding and benefits from child-related services and parents.

I don't believe we've seen the last of ratio increases either. A graduate professional can now run at a ratio of 1:13. Only they won't because they believe it's detrimental to the children.

Sam Gyimah wants them to "innovate" and work towards this ratio. That was his recent answer when asked about the shortfall in the free entitlement funding. So, no extra funding - just increase your numbers. For all settings??

Unfortunately, he ran out of time before he had chance to answer that question.

Wonder if he'd like his 9 month old being cared for with ratios like that?

IceBeing, getting people out to work has the effect of stimulating markets and economic growth, and the complexities of how this works go well beyond the kind of input-output model you are talking about, where one parent goes to work to look after other people's children so they delegate that care. If you only consider that part of the equation, and not the bigger, more nuanced and complex picture, the logical conclusion is that half the population should be living like people in the Good Life.

I think the truth of the matter is that the benefit to the economy of parents working is so much more than any token tax rebate they are getting, that we are indeed being shafted. There are a lot of middlemen making money here and it ain't providers, that's for sure. Childcare was much cheaper before all the regulation of 1988 onwards and most of the time it was perfectly satisfactory. If parents didn't like what they saw, they voted with their feet. Over-regulation has now made it very expensive and patchy, with longer waiting lists than ever, so there is a case for Government just buggering off and leaving parents and providers to come to the arrangements they need. That's not going to happen, however, as it's all mixed up with national insurance liabilities, minimum wage legislation and health and safety now.

They probably want a man to push the point that it isnt a woman's only issue..

Some clarification around this 'myth' that childminders will lose their OFSTED rating.

From the PACEY website:
The law specifically prevents a childminder from registering with Ofsted and an agency at the same time, or more than one agency at the same time. This means that if you changed your mind about your registration choice, you would have to re-register with Ofsted or another agency. Ofsted have to date not announced whether re-registering from an agency would entail a different fee to usual registration costs.

To me, that means Agency childminders cannot be registered by OFSTED therefore will lose their OFSTED rating therefore not a myth after all.