Hansard

There is nothing complacent about the Executive's motion, and I am sure that the Scottish National party amendment would have been accepted had it not implied that none of the funding is sustainable or long-term.

What strikes me is how far we have moved since the election of the Labour Government in 1997. I am interested in child care; in 1993, I asked a question about it of John Major, the Conservative Prime Minister, at Prime Minister's question time. I asked whether the Government would assist financially the lone parents who required child care. He did not answer the question—which was not uncommon—so I wrote to him. I looked at his reply recently, and astoundingly he said that research indicated that low-income lone parents did not spend money on child care. For him, that was the end of the matter. I do not think, however, that it needed research to indicate that.

We should remember that as recently as 1993— only six years ago—no financial support for child care was available for lone parents or for any other parents. Since 1997, there has been a massive advance in the importance of child care in political debate. The present Westminster Government is the first in United Kingdom history to state openly that child care is part of economic policy—it has thereby signified an end to the men- only economic policies of the past.

Child care is also a fundamental aspect of equal opportunities policy. Perhaps most important, it is a fundamental part of policy on children. That is most clearly demonstrated in the fact that the new initiatives ensure care for the under-threes; I am sure that we will hear more details about that in the near future. All child care—for the under- threes, nursery places, after-school places and wrap-around care—is in the interests of the children as well as of the parents, and much research backs that up.

The fundamental points of the strategy that have been emphasised are affordability, accessibility, quality and choice. There has been discussion

about affordability, and we must reiterate the importance of the child care tax credit. That is a new departure, although there were some belated starts towards it by the previous Government. It will ensure that a significant amount of money will go not only to people who formerly received family credit, but to others, as a result of the incomes scare. That is important for the sustainability of many new child care developments.

Accessibility has been a problem in the past— the child care places were simply not there. No one is complacent and there are still problems, particularly on extended places for children under five. There have been important developments in wrap-around care, and we all know about the guaranteed places for four-year olds. There will also be a big expansion in after-school child care. Accessibility is being addressed.

A paper on regulation has been taken on board, which is important for quality. Choice is also important—not only in regard to the choice of a child care place. An issue that is beginning to enter the debate is whether parents—women in particular—want to return to work after having a child. Last week's pre-budget report said that in future there will be provision for them for the first year. That will be done via an extension of the working families tax credit. Another principle is family-friendly employment. We need to develop a new combination of work and child care.

I am not complacent, any more than the Executive is, and I have some concerns. No one is pretending that all the problems have been solved in the past two and a half years. Students cannot get the working families tax credit, and the access funds for further and higher education do not meet the full costs of child care. A constituent of mine, a lone parent in further education, has a big bill for child care that she cannot meet.

I am also concerned that the wages and conditions of child care workers should be addressed. A study is being carried out by the Accounts Commission, to compare the conditions of local authority child care workers with those in the private sector.

There are issues to be addressed that relate to working families tax credit and child care tax credit, although both schemes are praiseworthy. A withdrawal of housing benefit accompanies working families tax credit, although not child care tax credit. We have to keep an eye on charges, as they might rise as a result of working families tax credit. That will leave students and others who do not get working families tax credit in some difficulty.

Edinburgh Sitters has found that, although it provides a valuable service, it cannot attract the working families tax credit. I have written to the minister about that, and I am sure that I will receive a satisfactory reply soon.