Rishi Sunak has been forced to defend England's childcare system after a Newcastle MP said that it was "in crisis" and raised concerns over the proposals laid out earlier this month.
The Prime Minister appeared in front of the Commons Liaison Committee on Tuesday to answer questions on the financial support detailed in the Budget. One of the major announcements from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on March 15 was that working parents will be offered up to 30 hours of free childcare a week for children as young as nine months.
Catherine McKinnell, the Labour MP for Newcastle North and Petitions Committee chairwoman, asked Sunak: "The childcare system is in crisis, would you agree?" The MP went on to suggest that parents currently spending 30% of their household income on childcare "would say that it is currently in crisis".
READ MORE: Bishop of Durham reveals why he's angry at UK's 'inhuman' asylum system
But the Prime Minister responded: "No, I don’t think I would [agree]. I think that announcements in the budget were warmly welcomed by the childcare sector for what they're going to do, which is to increase the funding for childcare as it is now, but also expand the provision to cover some of the gaps in the existing system and move us into a internationally quite generous position relative to our peers on childcare."
However, Sunak did concede that "we have, relative to other countries, more expensive childcare". The Government is set to phase in the new childcare policy, meaning it will be available to working parents of two-year-olds from April 2024, covering around half-a-million parents, but initially it will be limited to 15 hours.
From September 2024, the 15-hour offer will be extended to children from nine months, which the Government has said will help nearly a million parents. The full 30-hour offer to working parents of children under five will come in from September 2025, but all adults in the household must be working at least 16 hours per week to qualify.
McKinnell also raised safety concerns about another proposed change to childcare, which will see the minimum required staff-to-child ratio at childcare facilities in England reduced from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds. But Sunak retaliated that the change was not "dramatic", and added that it would be an optional adjustment.
The Newcastle MP previously spoke on behalf of 109,000 petitioners against the Government's plans to change the staff-child ratios in November. McKinnell said that the proposals "risk betraying the trust" parents have that the childcare system "will always prioritise children and their safety".
Additionally, North East campaigners have raised concerns that the requirement for parents to be working at least 16 hours to access 30 hours of free childcare could put families in the region at a disadvantage. Speaking earlier this month, Anna Turley, chairwoman of the North East Child Poverty Commission, said: "Unaffordable childcare is one of the single biggest challenges for parents and carers wanting to work or increase their hours, and the changes announced should make a big difference to many families in our region, once they are fully rolled out by September 2025.
"However, we have real concerns that these reforms could further disadvantage the North East, as the requirement for all parents to be working at least 16 hours will lock out too many families in our region from being able to access this additional, vital early years education, which should be available to all babies and children."
READ NEXT:
Warning 'a lot of work' needed to tackle poverty and inequality in Northumberland
DWP claimants in North East more likely to be sanctioned than other parts of country
Government pothole pledge 'falls far short' as Newcastle still faces £184m repairs backlog
Newly-unveiled Tyne and Wear Metro trains are 'best you would see anywhere in the world'
