Families have been let down by Labour on childcare

Sioned Williams, Lead Plaid Cymru candidate for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd

It is staggering just how far Labour has allowed Wales to fall behind when it comes to childcare investment.

A Labour Welsh Government allowed itself by overtaken by the Tories, no less, who in 2023 kickstarted an expansion of free childcare in England which will have seen an extra £6bn invested by 2028.

That inequality of provision between England and Wales is one of the reasons why Plaid Cymru is making our ambitious childcare offer a key priority in this election.

The international evidence is clear – governments investing in quality childcare more than pays for itself.

In supporting parents – and especially mothers – to return to work, or to pick up additional hours, in the short term, government-funded childcare can boost both GDP and tax receipts, as well as family incomes. Most families who live in poverty in Wales have children under four years old.

Longer term, in giving all children the opportunity to socialise and develop key skills, it has an impact that lasts a lifetime – setting them up to thrive on entering statutory education. The returns here are biggest from those children from the most deprived households.

And we also know that immersion in the early years is absolutely critical when it comes to language acquisition, and key, therefore, to reaching the target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Quality, affordable childcare puts money back in families’ pockets, supports economic growth, and has a life changing impact when it comes to breaking the cycle of poverty.

As confirmed by experts at the Wales Governance Centre, additional per capita investment in childcare in Wales over the course of the last Senedd term doesn’t come anywhere close to this.

In England, working parents of children aged nine months to two years receive up to 30 hours a week of free childcare. But in Wales, under Labour, those same parents would receive no support with childcare costs at all.

In fact, under Labour, childcare costs in Wales are the highest anywhere in the UK.

In England, the average weekly cost for a fulltime nursery place is £148.82 for a child under two, and £140.72 for a two-year-old.

In Wales, these are a staggering £325.12 and £329.84 respectively.

These eye-watering costs mean that a majority of parents in Wales report spending more on childcare than they do on either their rent or their mortgage. Many are left weighing up whether it makes any financial sense to return to work at all. And for far too many, it means that childcare is simply unaffordable.

While England has raced ahead, Labour in Wales has not only failed to try to catch up – it has actively hit the brakes.

Labour’s manifesto for the 2021 Senedd election contained no meaningful or concrete promises on expanding funded childcare hours at all. Just as we had to on free school meals, it was Plaid Cymru that forced the Labour Party into agreeing to phase in 12.5 hours of care per week for all two-year-olds by the end of this Senedd term.

And their lack of commitment to delivering on this agreement is plain to see.

Accessing care hours

Labour’s deliberate heel dragging when it has come to the rolling out this expanded offer has consistently been called out, with the Bevan Foundation also highlighting the complexity of accessing care hours in a system that has not been designed with the needs of families in mind.

To date, in only three local authorities has the 12.5 hour offer been made available to every two-year-old.

That even this much has been achieved is owed entirely to Plaid Cymru having held Labour’s feet to the fire.

In this election, Labour claim to want to extend 12.5 hours of care to children from nine-months-old. This doesn’t go anything like as far as what is on offer in England. And at any rate, how can they be trusted to deliver, based on their track record?

Actions speak louder than words, and when it comes to action on childcare, it is clear that Labour has been found wanting. After 27 years in power, it is clear that they have run out of steam – on childcare and so much else besides.

Labour might be willing to bump along at the bottom of the childcare league table, but we in Plaid Cymru know not only that families in Wales deserve better, but that we can lead the way and push the envelope – setting an example for the rest of the UK to follow.

Evidence

In our commitment to making 20 hours of care available to every child from the age of 9 months to 4 years –  keeping the current 30-hour offer for three and four-year-olds whose parents are in work, education or training – Plaid Cymru is following the evidence.

The evidence of what works when it comes to putting money back into families’ pockets just when they need it most.

The evidence of what works to help parents back into work, and to give the economy a much needed boost.

And the evidence of what works when it comes to tackling poverty, and giving every child the best start in life.

That this policy is an absolute priority for us reflects both our principle and our pragmatism – investing in childcare is the right thing to do, but it is also the smart thing to do.

Challenges

We know that this won’t be cheap – but we know the money is there to prioritise childcare in a way that Labour never has.

And we know too that there are practical challenges, including in expanding the childcare workforce.

But as part of our wider plan for a new national skills and workforce strategy, we will ensure that qualifications and training opportunities properly reflect what’s needed to develop a new generation of childcare workers.

We’re also committed to a fair deal on hourly entitlement funding rates for providers – so that they can cover costs and pay a decent wage.

And we will make it easier for more providers – including childminders – to deliver funded childcare hours.

We have never said that delivering a step change in childcare in Wales will be easy. But we know it will be worth it.  And experts have supported our view.

And unlike Labour, Plaid Cymru understands that there can be no better investment in our nation’s future.